Sydney's Royal Easter Show Opens

Rodeo riders have polished their spurs, the prize pigs are clean and pink and the gates have officially opened at the Royal Easter Show.

More than 900,000 visitors are expected to pour through the exhibits in Sydney between Friday, April 5 and Sunday, April 22.

About 20,000 tourists have bought tickets reserved for the Asian market.

Kids will flock to the packed showbag pavilion, with a record 342 different bags on sale including Masterchef, Smurfs and Bertie Beetle bags.

General manager of the Royal Easter Show Michael Collins said more than 12 hours of entertainment would be packed into every day.

"The show is a great educational opportunity for kids to get their boots dirty," he said in a statement.
There will still be the traditional show competitions such as the young farmer challenge, the young auctioneer competition and the showdown to find the best wood chopper, honey, horse, dog, cat and alpaca.

Celebrity vet Dr Katrina Warren is hosting a Wonderdogs show featuring talented pups who perform on cue and can speak and spell.

There will also be two world record attempts: organisers will try to assemble the largest number of people wearing an eye patch while musicians can take part in a mass ukulele ensemble.

THESE EASTER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS…Become a Conservation Champion! Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife World

Fast facts:
o Campaign is across both Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Wildlife World
o Dates: 9-26 April
o Key theme: Conservation of our marine and land animals/environments.
Customer experience:

At Sydney Aquarium:

o We’re extending the Ocean Quest experience (which was done for Sea Week at the
beginning of March).
o All kids receive an Ocean Quest map which will guide them through the attraction with
questions to answer. At the end of their experience, they are entitled to receive a Junior
Oceanologist certificate.
o We’ll feature regular conservation themed talks at 5 key stations: Shark HQ, Dugongs,
Coral Propagation, Shark Hatchery and Penguins.
o Adding more prominent signage in the form of movable lightboxes.

At Sydney Wildlife World:

o We’re installing a 19m Bee themed display wall featuring cool facts on Bees!
 Their profile
 Differences between the Native Bee (Australian) and Honey Bee (Introduced
species)
 The role they play in the environment
 The global bee crisis
 Quirky ‘Did you know” facts
 Ways we can help the plight of our bees
 And more!
o There will also be 2 large scale models (1-Native and 1-Honey Bee) with tactile areas
people can touch (eg. fur, antenna, etc).
o Paying kids receive a Bee bag of goodies upon arrival, including an awesome (Avant)
card which they can take home and plant! (Refer to below).