This Saturday the show bags will be painfully deliberated over, the bagpipes will be squealing and the dust will be swirling at the base of Mount Noorat in South West Victoria.
My happy place.
The place where I go when I need to recharge, regroup, and repeat the wonders of my own childhood with my kids. Regardless of where I have lived over the years, this town is often referred to as ‘home home’ in our home in Melbourne. My kids know exactly what I mean and it certainly helps that I married a local boy.
Every year, the community comes together to celebrate The Noorat Show.
The Carni’s hit town and the kids of Noorat and surrounds wait with baited breath and wonder if the Zipper will be arriving and just how high the Ferris Wheel might be.
We were getting excited to surprise our littles with a cheeky trip home this year, and then the email arrived heralding the date for my little girl’s Stage School Concert. The culmination of a semester worth of dinosaur roars and T-Rex stomping. Her much anticipated stage performance has been scheduled for this very Saturday…at 1pm. Right in the middle of the day, so no chance to head ‘home home’ afterwards.
Instead, this is what our Saturday will look like compared to all you Noo Noo’s.
CRACK OF DAWN ON SHOW DAY
Noorat Show Day was right up there with Christmas. It didn’t matter if Dad still had to milk the cows and jobs needed doing, we were all bright eyed and ready to go at dawn! Not a minute to waste!
This Saturday, it is likely I will also be awake at dawn…by an excited 5 year old who is a quirky mix between Shirley Temple and Punky Brewster. Because it will be CONCERT DAY!!! Haven’t you heard yet?! Diva will be on stage and you ALL need to know about it (in her mind, that is). But…dawn is verrrry, painfully early right now…
WINNERS AND LOSERS ON SIDE SHOW ALLEY
I loved the clowns. OK, so I was (and still am) scared of the big rides, but popping those balls in the moving Clown mouths, that was definitely my style. Not so good at shooting hoops and fishing for chocolate it turns out, but the possibilities seemed endless and I was always thinking BIG as a kid.
This year, the only score our family will be making is if we make it to my son’s soccer on time…and if he gets a goal, of course. Saturday morning sport. Uuugghhhh!!!
STRUT YOUR STUFF
You may not know this about me, but I was THE Queen of fashion. Straight off the catwalks of Glenormiston, me and my gal pals swung around those showgrounds with crimped hair and Ra-Ra skirts and we owned it, right girls? Or so we thought…. The Noorat Show was the chance to strut your finest and be seen.
This weekend I am sweating with the thought of the ‘required’ hair do. Straight plaits or braids for the stage. If you know my diva (or check her out over on Mummy Muckups Instagram), this girl rocks the fro. Big hair, yeah yeah. It is wild and wonderful and she even refers to her morning hair (before we try to calm it down) as ‘Crazy Hair’. Got that, baby girl. My chub fingers just won’t do what they are supposed to do, regardless of how many YouTube videos you recommend.
DODGEM CARS MAYHEM
I genuinely did not know that you were supposed to drive in one direction on the dodgems. Suffice to say, I was useless at these, terrified of crashing and refused to be the driver. Funny dat; I didn’t get my licence until I was 23 and maybe I have just uncovered the root cause!
This Saturday, Diva’s show is on at a major inner city Uni. We will be cutting it fine due to the mini Socceroos and I know parking will be a disaster. BUGS NOT DRIVING, husband!
AND THE WINNER IS….
As a kid, I enjoyed the Grand Parade at 3pm (even though its conclusion did signal our reminder to head back to the car for home time), but I was so busy eating junk and eyeing off the boys, I barely saw an animal. The Noorat Show has an amazing range of displays and competitions, including yard dog trials, show jumping, creative writing contests, bake-offs and poultry competitions. I appreciate these so much more as an adult.
I must admit, though it’s not the Miss Noorat Showgirl trailer, I am genuinely looking forward to seeing my little darling on the big stage. She has been thoroughly enjoying her classes and has made some truly sweet, little friends. Though it is not a competition, it is certainly her big moment to show off her hard work for this semester. She will rock it.
TIRED KIDS
Sunburnt, dusty and with hair that no longer held its exotic morning crimp, it was time to head for home. Showbags were compared and fought over in the back seat, someone generally threw up or had a headache, and we would all be early to bed pure exhausted Saturday night.
My hopeful self says this, too, will be the procedure in our house this weekend. Surely after Soccer, a concert, and afternoon tea they will be shattered and in bed…but I think I might just be kidding myself. Time will tell.
DOING IT ALL AGAIN NEXT YEAR
Of course, there will be more shows, more concerts (and always more fairy floss), but we will sign ourselves up again for another ride on the parenting roller coaster.
Here’s hoping I will be back ‘home home’ next year, with my wonderful family, constantly scanning for a visual on the kids and nodding my head politely at strangers that I think I might just have gone to High School with. Maybe.
Dreaming of the Noorat Show? See my past reflections on Dust and Donuts.
