The 'West' still as popular ever for its 100th show
THE 100th West Show proved just what the event means to the island as it continued to attract thousands of people.
Just a couple of hours into the first day of the show there were queues into the field, queues at all food outlets, and queues for activities.
‘It’s swimming with people already, and it’s just so lovely to see the crowds coming in and the car parks filling up. It’s looking very good so far in terms of numbers,’ said West Show vice-president Peter Le Lacheur.
‘When you see it like this, it really makes the hard work that everybody puts in so worthwhile.’
In comparison to recent weeks where islanders have been sheltering from the rain and wind, people found themselves sheltering for shade to cool off, as the weather proved to be on the side of the organisers.
‘We’ve been very lucky with the weather, it was a bit damp while we were setting up but you can’t ask for any more than sun on the actual days,’ said Mr Le Lacheur.
Another committee member said that she was happy to see that the community continued to turn out in numbers and support the event.
‘It just shows what the West Show means to people, where else do you get that?’
Home-made, home-created and home-grown goods in the exhibition tent hit a record high.
Entries in 2013, the show’s centenary, were the most ever recorded – until this year blew that out of the water.
The show received 3,198 entries this year, compared to 2,010 last year. Categories such as farm produce, eggs and adults arts and craft almost doubled this year, and there were entry increases in 14 of the 15 categories compared to in 2022.
The fur and feather category in the animal tent saw the biggest increase, with 111 entries on show this year.
While today’s West Show schedule remains mostly the same, it will also include the equine in-hand judging and an appearance from L’Assembllaie d’Guernesiais.
The full schedule can be found at www.thewestshow.com/whats-on/programme-of-events/
