The Shows mustn't go on!

The agricultural shows in Virginia and Arva have become the latest major events to fall victim to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Virginia Show was scheduled for Wednesday, August 19, while the Arva Show was set for Sunday, July 26. Respective organisers had been holding back on calling off the events in the hope that the emergency would have abated and normal life resumed in time to host them.
Both shows’ fates were sealed last Wednesday when the Irish Shows Association (ISA) called for its members to cancel shows given the expert advice on social distancing and mass gatherings.
The ISA statement added: “We are cognisant of the fact that many of our show volunteers are in vulnerable groups and that our sponsors have been hit hard by the current situation.”
Arva Show secretary Brían Cully told the Celt: “I don’t think we were going to run anyway, but we were waiting to see the guidance they would give us, so on their recommendation we have decided to cancel for this year.”
Virginia Show’s scheduled date was still four months away, but the ISA’s point on sponsorship was echoed by show chairman, Patrick Gaynor in deciding to cancel for this year.
“It would be very hard to gather up sponsorship if we had gone ahead because you can’t go to firms, which are not working, and look for sponsorship,” he told the Celt.
Patrick said that the significance of the pandemic, and the scores of deaths occurring daily put the cancellation of the Virginia Show in perspective.
“Our main concern are the poor people who are sick and dying; 40-50 people dying a day is an awful lot. When you talk to people who know someone who has it, that’s when you realise we’ll live without the other things,” said Patrick.
He acknowledges however that the cherished event which attracted over 10,000 people to the Showgrounds each year will be missed by many in rural communities across the country.
“It’s probably disappointing for a lot of people, it’s their social outing for the year,” says Patrick, whose family enter livestock into a dozen or so annual shows around the country. “It’s disappointing but it’s a small thing to give up when you consider what’s going on.”

Home industries

With COVID-19 forcing people to stay at home, a renewed interest has been sparked in culinary crafts and gardening - a point not lost on show organisers.
“There’s a lot of people now in these times doing a lot of baking and a lot of gardening at home so hopefully in 2021 they will bring those skills to the shows all over the country,” says Brían.
Patrick suggests: “Maybe we have to look at fitting some classes into the show that would suit those people. We could change the classes a little bit and keep that tradition going.”
Both men are eager for the local shows to resume next year.
“We rely on our sponsors a huge amount - only for them we couldn’t run it, so hopefully during these times hopefully all our sponsors can come out on the better side of it too,” said Brían.
“We’re determined to be back in 2021 going strong again,” he said.
2020 will be only the second occasion on which the Virginia Show has not been run in its proud 79 year history, with the Foot and Mouth crisis of 2001 accounting for the first cancellation.
“It bounced back from Foot and Mouth and we’ll bounce back again. 
“We have a great committee and great sponsors. Hopefully next year they will come on board again,” said Patrick.