No flowers will be needed for the decorated vehicle section, and the message to potential entrants is: ‘Go colourful. Go crazy. Go completely over the top.’
Show vice-president Josh Cotran-Gabriel said that as well as reflecting the success of the Liberation Day floats, the new class would also make it a lot easier for people to take part.
‘It’s a lot of work to make [flower] floats and it’s a lot of people hours,’ he said.
‘We’ve seen numbers slightly decline so we’re doing different things to encourage new people to enter.’
However, there are still some people who are progressing from small to large classes,’ he said.
‘One last year entered a little pull-along but this year they’ve upgraded it to a trailer pulled by a vehicle.’
There was a minor challenge to the show recently when it realised it needed more volunteers, but an announcement from the Vale Douzaine helped recruit the number needed.
‘They were very good,’ said Mr Cotran-Gabriel. ‘We just wanted a handful of people and sure enough a handful have come forward.’
As well as the main event of the battle on Thursday afternoon, the show will be providing entertainment throughout the two days.
Making a return will be Titan the Robot, the larger-than-life mechanical man whose wisecracking antics delighted show-goers when he last appeared in 2023.
Daredevil antics will be the focus of the main arena on the Wednesday afternoon, with the Duo Millers Fire Show and its choreographed dramatic fire routines, the MBE BMX Arena Show, featuring crazy stunts and tricks performed by a team made up of BMX champions, record holders and Red Bull athletes, and an ATV stunt show with Paul Hannam, who brings 25 years of experience riding quad bikes, plus 10 racing at British Championship level, to what is being billed as a high-octane show of stunts and jumps.
Alongside all these features the fairground will be back again with seven rides for all the family – not forgetting tents full of local produce, crafts and livestock, large and small.
The North Show is on Wednesday and Thursday 26 and 27 August.
You need to be logged in to comment.