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However, it soon came into focus when participants from the World Hereford Conference in Queenstown, where 17 delegates caught Covid-19, attended the show. No cases were linked directly to the show, but the day after it closed, event organisers were cleaning up and realising that Covid-19 was about to destroy their livelihoods.
Debbie Jamieson/Stuff
Past president Grant Ruddenklau was at the helm of the Wanaka A&P Show in 2020 when it was suddenly thrust into the Covid-19 spotlight. “We went from an exceptional show to the end of a lot of people’s businesses overnight,” Ruddenklau said. “It was quite surreal. Like a funeral.”
A sheep shearing demonstration at the Wanaka A&P Show last year.
Photo: Supplied/James Allan Photography
Less than two weeks ago, the show s future was hanging in the balance after Auckland moved into alert level 3 and the rest of the country shifted to level 2.
Show event manager Jane Stalker said there were more than 200 volunteers who worked countless hours to make this year s show a reality. It just feels amazing. There was a time where it nearly didn t go ahead and then we had the support from our trade exhibitors and our sponsors to start our set up, which is huge. It takes us about 10 days to set up and without their support, we couldn t have done this.