Thousands attend Queensland’s largest agriculture show

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Wet weather in southeast Queensland has yet to put a dampener on Brisbane’s annual Ekka Show. More than 50,000 show-goers are expected to turn out for the public holiday event.

Transcript

00:00Well, despite the wet weather, thousands of people have turned up at the ECCA for People's

00:06Day, the public holiday for the largest event, the agriculture show on the Queensland calendar.

00:11Now, Queenslanders would know at the ECCA, it's not just about the rides, it's not just

00:16about the show bags, it's also the people that you run into.

00:18Sorry, excuse me, sir, excuse me.

00:21I'm just busy.

00:23I'm getting dressed.

00:24I'm getting florally dressed.

00:25Can you tell me what's sort of going on here right now?

00:29What's going on here?

00:30This is floral mayhem, and I love it, and it's going on again.

00:36Each year it happens.

00:39Basically it started as a floral beard competition, and then we realised that why be exclusive

00:44only to people with follicles?

00:47Let's open it out.

00:48So it's just wearable floristry.

00:50And that way everyone, whether you've got a beard or no beard, and it's a chance for

00:54florists, I think, to show just how creativity is something that can be expressed through

01:02flowers, and then when you express that through flowers, you connect people to nature and

01:08all of those things.

01:09So it's just brilliant that this is probably about the, I don't know, the seventh or eighth

01:14year we've done it.

01:15How amazing.

01:16Now, can you tell me a bit about what you look out for?

01:19I can try and put some of these flowers in your beard just to decorate, but tell me a

01:23bit about what it's all about.

01:24What do you look out for when you do it?

01:26Well, the florists, first of all, they have to look at the person, if there's a beard

01:31or it could be a lady with beautiful long hair or a particular colour of hair.

01:35And then they gauge their flowers, their choice of flowers, to go with what they're doing.

01:41And then if they're wearing a beautiful shirt like that, they'll get colours.

01:45So yeah, you want to create movement, splashes and pops of colour, perhaps a thread.

01:53You know, a thread and a theme, there might be some little bees that get put in there

01:57or maybe even a possum or a kookaburra, who knows.

02:02But yeah, it's up to that creative eye of the florist to just piece the portrait.

02:11Effectively, it's a moving portrait.

02:15It's incredible, isn't it?

02:17Tell me, how have you found the Eccas so far?

02:18The first thing I noticed this morning, it's pouring with rain when I woke up.

02:23Was there a drop in energy?

02:24Not at all.

02:26It took me the same amount of time to walk across the place as it normally does because

02:31people want to stop and say hello.

02:34The excitement is high.

02:36People have put ponchos on, they've got umbrellas, or they're just saying, well, it doesn't matter.

02:40The weather's the weather.

02:41And particularly beautiful to see the country folk here, they don't care about the weather.

02:47They go, well, that's what we're dealt.

02:49So no, I feel as excited as ever.

02:54And the Ecca, it's such a signature event for, really, Queensland.

02:59Thank you so much for your time, Costa.

03:01Just one of the many sights and sounds here at the Ecca.

03:03Despite the wet weather, still lots to do, especially undercover.

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