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May 2026 Edition
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Return: The Canterbury A&P Show held at the Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch will return to its original Wednesday to Friday format for its 163rd annual show in November.
Back to the future for Show The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association has announced the Canterbury A&P Show will return to its original Wednesday to Friday format.
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] by Kent Caddick This year’s 163rd Show in November will go back to where it belongs running from Wednesday November 11 through to Friday November 13 at the Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch. The Friday date is set by the Show’s traditional 163-year formula: the second Friday after the first Tuesday of November. Canterbury A&P Association Chairman Sir David Carter said the decision restores a format that has served the Show for more than 160 consecutive years, and reflects direct feedback from the farming community, rural exhibitors, and agricultural businesses who are the backbone of the Canterbury A&P Show.
“This is a return to our roots. Wednesday to Friday is the format that works for farmers, for competitors, and for the rural community that built this Show,” Carter said. “We listened to our exhibitors and our members, and we are acting on what they told us. That is what good governance looks like.” Event Director of the Canterbury A&P Show Geoff Bone said the change also resolves a scheduling conflict that has affected the Show under its previous Thursday to Saturday format. “With the Show now running Wednesday through Friday, rural and urban Canterbury can attend the Show across three full days before the New Zealand Cup at Riccarton on
Saturday, two complementary pillars of Canterbury’s event calendar, rather than rivals for the same audience,” Bone said. “When we build this Show around rural exhibitors and competitors, the urban audience gets something no other event can offer, a genuinely authentic rural experience to share with their kids. “That’s what they come for. That’s what we have to protect,” Bone said. Full competition schedules, entry information, exhibitor details, and membership communications will be released through established channels ahead of the Show. To keep up to date with what’s on at the Show go to www.theshow.co.nz
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