Scarecrow & photographic competition winners announced for ‘Waiting on the weather’ themed entries

The biggest ever line-up in the 70+ year history of the APA Quilpie Show was set to run last weekend on September 9 & 10, when an unseasonable downpour in the Southwest region of Outback Queensland forced organisers to cancel festivities.

“We had hoped it would just be a temporary set-back and we’d be able to set a new date to run the APA Quilpie Show and new Wideland Group Quilpie Ag & Tech Field Days as well as the Wideland Quilpie Rodeo.  But sadly, that’s not the case, and we’re now announcing a full cancellation of the 2022 Show and all associated activities.  It’s disappointing when so much work has already gone into creating what would have been our biggest and best show yet, it was prophetic that we had ‘Waiting on the weather’ as our theme for the scarecrow competition this year.  If only the wet weather could have waited just a little longer for us,” said Dannielle Stevenson, President of the Quilpie Show Society.

 After consulting with entertainment suppliers, stall holders and rodeo organisers the Quilpie Show Committee made the difficult decision to cancel the event after being unable to settle on a date that would allow all elements of the Show to proceed.

“It’s a very busy time of year coming up with rodeo finals taking place nationally meaning bulls and riders are committed elsewhere, likewise our show ride suppliers and many exhibitors were also already locked into other commitments.  And then the weather is once again against us as we start to head into scorching hot conditions in our region that would make it impossible to stage a show in any kind of comfort for our patrons or livestock,” added Dannielle Stevenson.

Renowned as the ‘Ekka of Outback Queensland’, the 2022 edition of the APA Quilpie Show was set to be its largest ever incarnation, with a the biggest Wideland Quilpie Rodeo prize pool and top ranked riders set to compete, and the Wideland Group Quilpie Ag & Tech Field Days added to the event line-up for the first time.

“We boosted the Rodeo prize money by $2,000 and had APRA helping run the competition with Bunn Bucking Bulls. We were set to be one of the biggest rodeos in Queensland’s Southwest.  We’ll do it all next year now and hope the weather is kinder to us then,” said Jeremy Grimm, Vice President of the Quilpie Show Committee and President of the Quilpie Rodeo.

The APA Quilpie Show has become renowned for its annual Scarecrow competition, with many other country shows taking inspiration from the wild and wacky contest over the years. Last year’s Quilpie Show Scarecrow competition featured crowd favourites such as Ed Shear’n and his sheep, based on the theme of sheep and wool revival.

This year, ironically, the APA Quilpie Show Scarecrow competition theme was ‘Waiting on the Weather’. Scarecrows took pride of place on front lawns across Quilpie before last week’s deluge washed activities out – but not before judges were able decide on winners for the scarecrow competition that this year also included a ‘Best Decorated Umbrella’ category.

“We believe we’re home to Australia’s first and oldest scarecrow competition. Every year, it attracts some hilarious entries and is always a fun highlight of Show week. Visitors to Quilpie get a real kick out of seeing the scarecrows dotted around front lawns during the days leading into the show and thankfully we were still able to do that this year,” added Dannielle Stevenson.

2022 Scarecrow winners have been announced online with Quilpie local Kelly Stegert taking out the best residential scarecrow for her aptly named ‘Marge the Rains are here’ scarecrow, followed by Roger Volz in second with his ‘Always wondering whether this weather is gonna be good for my woolly wethers’ entry and Jessica Tully in third with her ‘Mother natures wheel of weather’ entry. 

Community organisations and local businesses also entered the competition with creative scarecrows including one made from XXXX cans with the theme ‘Rain is Gold’ to Rain Chants and more being created.

Before the wash out a record 330 entries to the ‘waiting on the weather’ themed photo competition were received, with winners announced online and photos now on display in the Quilpie Visitors Information Centre, while all the art entries are being displayed in the shop-fonts of local Quilpie businesses.

The Quilpie Show Committee will announce the themes for the bumper 2023 show, joking that they will steer clear of anything weather related.