Show a big deal for Katherine region

The Katherine Show is quite possibly the biggest event of the year for the Katherine community.

“We had close to 30,000 people through the gates this year, and the town was a hive of activity” said Heather Dingle, the vice president of the show committee, winner of the biggest pumpkin and coordinator of Anglicare NT’s HIPPY program in Katherine.

Supporting families to be involved

Through her work with HIPPY Heather supports families to work on their show entries. HIPPY is an education program for children 3 and 4 years old, with the aim of getting children and their families ready for school.

Heather believes working with children and families to enter their creations into the show offers the most benefit. “I see real joy from kids and their families seeing their creations on display at the show” she said.

“This year we ran workshops during the school holidays for people to work on their entries. Grass head workshops were the most fun, with the creativity of the participants really shining through.

“We also joined up with Play2Learn playgroup (54 Reasons) and decorated paper Barramundi because the theme of the show this year was Barramundi.

Sponsorship of show prizes is important community work

Heather believes sponsoring show prizes connects Anglicare NT to Katherine and the surrounding communities. This is the event that families travel long distances to attend from all over the Big Rivers region and beyond, it raises our profile and enhances our community connectedness.

Biggest pumpkin in the world!

Ok not quite the world, but Heather’s giant pumpkin won the blue ribbon and possibly set a new NT record of 227kg.

“It took only 44 days from pollination to 227kg, it was amazing seeing this pumpkin literally growing before my eyes”.

Heather Dingle with her trophy and prize winning pumpkin – 227kg!