PRISTINE conditions and the biggest event in a year, drew locals and holiday makers to the Mildura CBD yesterday for the much anticipated return of the Show and Shine, with cafes and shops reaping the benefits of the extra trade.
Crowds streamed through the city centre on Good Friday, checking out the many cars, motorbikes and speed boats on show ahead of a weekend of motorsports.
Following the disappointment of the 2020 event being cancelled due to COVID-19, Mildura residents and those from further afield were raring to welcome the event back.
A slightly different COVID-friendly set up saw the boundaries of the event stretch from Tenth Street to Seventh Street, and entirely fenced to ensure all check-in measures were followed.
Mildura Rural City Council Mayor Jason Modica said after 12 months of difficult times, cancelled events and restrictions, the Show and Shine signalled a great start to recovery.
“It’s absolutely fantastic to see (the mall) full like this and it is really important that it happens on this weekend,” Cr Modica said.
“I’ve spoken to a few traders this morning and it’s not only (Friday), it stretches a week or two either side when people are coming and setting up down at the river – they’re using the town in such a great way.”
While one of the main Easter events, the Mildura 100 ski race won’t go ahead this year, a number of boats including local favourite Pigs Arsenal were on display ahead of a ski club demonstration tomorrow.
Motorsport enthusiasts were still spoilt for choice however with displays from the Holden Motor Museum, Sunraysia Historic Motorcycle Club and Mildura Muscle Car Club while children were drawn to the emergency services setup, where the little ones were able to have a look through a Country Fire Authority fire truck.
While in the past the event has attracted people from across Victoria and South Australia, this time around people seemed to be playing it closer to home with more tourists coming from within the state, including Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong, to take advantage of Mildura’s many Easter events.
Mildura City Heart manager and event organiser Danielle Hobbs said she was thrilled with the strong crowd number given the City Heart team had just 10 days to pull together the event which usually took three months to plan.
“It’s been such a ginormous undertaking … I probably didn’t think too much about it until six this morning and I did wonder if anyone would turn up,” Ms Hobbs said.
She said this year’s event was not what she considered “normal” given the extra measures that needed to be put in place including fencing off the entire space and enlisting 60 extra volunteers to man the six entrance points.
“We’re just so grateful to all the community organisations that have volunteered to support the event … without them we couldn’t have put this on, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
