Show is in Sandra’s DNA

Since her very first entry 62 years ago, Sandra Hall has been a stalwart of Mid Canterbury A&P Shows.

From pet lambs to knitting projects and tasty baking, show season has been Hall’s time to shine.

And this year she’s once again been a busy bee.

When she spoke to the Guardian before the Ashburton A&P Show kicked off yesterday, Hall was busy setting up the display for the art and painting section, hanging some splendid looking paintings on chains against a large white display stand.

Hall has been the supervisor for the art and painting section since 2007.

“I love doing it.”

This year her team has created two sets of butterfly wings and a cap with feelers for children to have their photos taken in line with this year’s show theme – Let’s Create a Buzz: Bees, Bugs and Butterflies.

After setting up the art work display, she planned to head home to make some of her baking entries so they were fresh for presentation the following morning.

Hall said her preserves and fruit loaves were done, but she still had to make the breads, muffins and sponges she planned to enter.

“The stuff that doesn’t keep, you have to make closer to the Friday morning,” she said.

She also had two knitting entries in this year’s show. One was finished a while ago, but her larger project was only finished with a day or two to spare.

For Hall, entering A&P shows is in her DNA. Growing up, her family entered the Mayfield show every year. Her father entered his vegetables and her mother entered baking.

Hall’s first A&P entries were a pet lamb and a calf back in 1961 and 1962.

As a teenager and into early adulthood she entered her art works.

When she returned from Australia in 1987, Hall gravitated back to the Mayfield show and by 1991 started to enter the Ashburton show.

She has two boxes full of entry tickets and rosettes – one from Mayfield and another from Ashburton.

“Covid was the only time I stopped,” she said.

In a typical year, Hall starts starts to plan the following year’s entries just after Christmas – any larger projects needed to be planned around her fulltime job at Ashford Handicrafts.

However, she plans to retire at the end of March next year and will then have more time for her crafts and show entries.

For Hall the A&P shows have been an integral part of her life. Her children and grandchildren have all taken part, too.

“It’s all about the excitement and atmosphere.”

That atmosphere will be on full display today, as the crowds head down on what is expected to be a sunnier day out than the first day of the show.

By Sharon Davis