The Ekka - Pricey Or Priceless?

It appears that only one family from our 'real life' friends are going to the Ekka this year.

The rest are citing the expense and/or the risk of flu, whooping cough, and all the other Dreaded Lurgies doing the rounds this year.

Even though we've been sick, the kids are still begging to go, and I would love to take them.

However, my social media peeps have been keeping me informed, and to be honest, they don't make it sound too enticing.

Here are a few examples:

@simonband: absolute chaos as police martial shoulder to shoulder crowds set to riot at the smaller show bag pavilion #ekka #notajoke

@o_Natalie_o: Biggest waste of time, the Internet scam van. Next to the car dealers. Felt like they were recruiting us...#Ekka

@jendudley Word is spreading around the #ekka about the substandard strawberry ice creams. One person queueing.

@DebRyan66 The showbag pavillion at #Ekka yesterday had bouncers, crowd control for those who want to pay $25 for $5 of plastic. #mayhem

@Graham_Friend  Back from the #Ekka. Dropped 350 in 4 hours. How cheap is that!!

And then there were more positive tweets like:

@simonband i just watched a sheep do a poo #ekka

and

@simonband i'm watching lambs being born #ekka

@kliplet Asked 7y son how was it? - "Best day of the week" #ekka

@bern_morley: Bertie Beetled out #Ekka

So it seems there are pros and cons.

As for costs, apparently a single, heart-attack-inducing Dagwood Dog/Pluto pup will set you back $5! Can you believe that? Fair suck of the (battered) sav ...

Sounds like the $2 Coon cheese toasties at the Woolworths Fresh Food Pavillion are the Ekka's best bargain treat.

And for foodies, there's a $7 Ekka pie which is supposed to be amazing. ($10 if you want mushy peas, potato and gravy).

Or from Let's Do Yum Cha, the $2.50 dumplings and yum  cha (or 5 for $10) sound like another bargain.

I was thrilled to read there is still a CWA (Country Woman's Association) stand offering their famous Devonshire teas and ham sandwiches. They are always a favourite for Ekka visitors in need of nourishment, tea, and a genuine country smile.

The opinions of the new-look strawberry sundae are mixed, with most dissing them in favour of the traditional ice-creams. (See, you should never mess with tradition?)

Advice on good value goodies from my twitter peeps?

o_Natalie_o The Theiss mining stand at the far end of the #Ekka had little bag for gold coin. Mini mining hat, coloured pencils in case with sharpener, ruler, chocolate. Jellybeans.

#Ekka Government Qld building giving away free fruit...bananas, apples orange 1 per person. Bananas are like gold! (Unsure who this one came from, sorry).

And this: @earleyedition Ekka! Miss2 is seeing the real life animals & animal sounds for the first time!!

Now, I don't think you can put a price on that do you?

It's Ekka Time!

It's cold, and we're all home sick, which in Brisbane can only mean one thing: It's Ekka Time.

For those playing at home outside of Australia, The Ekka is an iconic Brisbane event which has been held since 1876.

It's when 'the country comes to the city'. Over 10 days, visitors will roam the showgrounds clocking the country's best animals, cooking, fine arts, produce, and more.

The word 'Ekka' is Queensland slang for Exhibition, but over the years it's built into a massive carnival as well.

There's sideshow alley, packed full of stomach-churning rides and high-pressure carnies tempting visitors to part with their hard-earned cash for what they think will be a huge fluffy toy, but will instead probably be a piece of shiny, plastic crap.

And then there's the food. While in recent years, there's been an increase in cooking shows and quality eateries; plus wine, coffee, nut, olive oil and wine tasting; there are iconic Ekka foods which should only be enjoyed once a year.

These include Dagwood Dogs or Pluto Pups, depending on where you buy them. They are battered frankfurts on sticks, generally dipped in tomato sauce. About 185,000 will be consumed this year. And of course, strawberry sundaes, an intriguing mix of ice-cream and strawberries served in a cone. Some 145,000 of those are expected to be eaten this year.

There are more than 10,0000 animals on display, 11,200 competition classes, and 20,000 competitions.

For some city peeps, the Ekka is the first time they get to see cows being milked, baby animals born, or wood being chopped. Not to mention the fireworks displays!

At Chez MIA, the jury is out as to whether we'll attend. For the kids, many of the attractions are the sideshow rides and showbags, all of which tend to add up very quickly. Add in ticket prices, food and drink, and a day at the Ekka, while always fun, turns into an expensive day out.

Needless to say, Mr 10 and Miss 8 have launched a relentless campaign to talk me into taking them, spruiking the fact that there's a lot to be seen that doesn't cost extra.

Point taken.

But there's also the sickness fear. Throw in the fact that we're already sick - tonsillitis, sinus and asthma - and that some 400,000 people will move through the gates to the Ekka this year, and I'm thinking it's a germy prescription for yet more days off school and visits to the GP.

So we'll see.

Some families decide to have a night or two at a swanky hotel, or take the kids to an all-inclusive theme park instead of going to the Ekka, citing the cost.

Regardless, the Ekka should be experienced by kids (big and small) at least once in their lives.

Readers, what would you do?

Showbags. Image courtesy of The Ekka Media Centre.

Are you going to the Ekka?

I wasn't going to blog about the Ekka again, because, quite frankly, I was in a huff that their not-so-social-media-friendly PR team wouldn't give me a family pass for a blog giveaway.
But it's Ekka time, and I'm a Queensland girl, so how can I not?
Now, I could have taken out a bank loan and taken the kids myself, but my Ex has already bought tickets for them, and is promising to spend up big, and to be honest, it's all rather a bit of a relief.
Though the child in me always gets excited at the thought of the Ekka - the smell of cow/horse/miscellaneous animal poo; the calorific Dagwood Dogs dipped into those giant buckets of budget tomato sauce; the strawberry ice-creams, which actually can be a hit and miss affair; the noise and vomit of sideshow alley; and last, but not least, the showbags: The tacky, overpriced, but completely necessary showbags.
This year, the adult in me has thought: Actually, I'm pretty okay with the fact that I'm not going.
Normally we schlep all the way into the showgrounds - and parking is cheaper than the train, but still involves a bit of a walk for little legs, before you even get in the gates.
Then there are the crowds. The noise. And of course, the prices. (I've heard it's $4.50 for a strawberry ice-cream this year? Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
And although there are plenty of free things, in the past we've found it so busy and so difficult to negotiate, that we only ever see a fraction of things on offer. And my kids are usually too cold/tired/over-stimulated/ or just plain cranky, to stay for the night program.
But in the interests of supporting our iconic annual event, I thought I'd share a few fun facts, courtesy of The Ekka's media department.

• The Ekka is Queensland’s largest event
• More than 70 per cent of the Showgrounds are dedicated to free activities
• Throughout the 10 days of the Ekka there are more than 3,000 free things to do and see.
• Visitors can admire fine arts displays which contain 1300 photographs, 963 craft entries, 900 paintings, 900 cookery entries, 100 quilts, and 37 sculptures
• In the Brisbane Markets Agricultural Hall there are 20 major fruit and vegetable exhibits which are made up of more than 110 metre-long banana hands, more than 100 pineapples, as well as 20 giant pumpkins 
• There are 300 dogs to look at, 2,000 chooks, 70 geese, 100 ducks, 80 canaries, 50 pigeons, 1,200 beef cattle, 700 horses, 160 cats, 120 dairy goats (including 30 kids), 150 alpacas, 400 dairy cows, 150 goats, and 200 fish.
• Visitors can also enjoy 12 sheepdog trials, 12 incredible garden displays, 30 horse drawn carriages, 200 thoroughbreds, a grand parade, and two livestock parades. Oh, and there are 400 baby animals in the RACQ Animal Nursery and 100 pregnant Ekka Ewes in the Sunny Queen Little Miracles Newborn Corner.

Still not convinced?

Importantly, 20 tonnes of manure is removed during Ekka and placed in landfill at Ti Tree Bioenergy, a waste disposal facility which captures environmentally damaging methane and converts it into electricity.

See, so the Ekka is never completely crap!

If you go, enjoy. And have a Dagwood Dog for me!

"You say they want how much for the showbags?"

(Image courtesy of the Ekka Media Centre)