The state's country shows are pivoting quickly to ensure they are not cancelling their shows for the second year in a row.
Last week, Crystal Brook Show made the devastating decision to cancel its 143rd annual show, set for August 14.
The other August shows are scrambling to get their COVID Event Management Plans approved, with Kadina deciding to forge ahead with its 150th show celebrations, set for August 21.
Whyalla is forging ahead with its show but with some changes, an outdoor only show and Port Lincoln has just decided to postpone its August 15 show.
This week, a month out from its scheduled date, Gawler Agricultural, Horticultural and Floricultural Society has postponed its show to November 20 and 21.
Organisers of the state's largest regional show, which attracts a crowd of about 35,000 over the two days, hope by November COVID-19 restrictions will have eased, enabling them to have a larger crowd and patrons in their indoor pavilions, which SA Health is presently not permitting.
SA Country Shows president Rosie Schultz says shows are more important than ever to boost the wellbeing of communities, and fears for the future of any society that is forced to axe its event for the second year.
"I do believe that some of those smaller shows that do not have a huge show and an ageing committee base could find it hard to come back," she said.
Gawler Show secretary Kate Cowell said it was "not an easy decision" to reschedule their show, but they did not want to disappoint their exhibitors or the service groups that depend on the show as a major fundraiser.
"The Gawler Show supports a lot of our broader community, it is not just an individual organisation that we are running here," she said.
"We need to make sure we are keeping everyone safe (health-wise) but that it can also be a successful show.
"There was no point putting on a show with a capped capacity that is not viable for everyone - our traders and stall holders need to make money too."
Ms Cowell said they had worked hard with the new dates to minimise clashes with other shows and events.
"It was only our beer entries which had closed so we will contact these exhibitors and put out some new closing dates for the other sections this week," she said.
Crystal Brook Show president Ashley Redden said it was a huge blow to cancel their show again, but it was the safest decision for the community.
It was also the best decision financially, given there was no guarantee of having their COVID Plan approved closer to the show.
"If we had waited another week and got knocked back by SA Health the costs would have been horrific," he said.
"Our sporting bodies who do the catering spend $10,000 or more on food, they can't afford that.
"It costs a lot as a show committee for us put on, too, and in another seven days we would have lost some serious money."
Mr Redden acknowledged it would be difficult to keep the committee and exhibitors enthused but was confident Crystal Brook show would be back in 2022.
"We will just have to push harder and hopefully the vaccine rollout goes well," he said.
Mrs Schultz says the biggest challenge facing shows all year has been the last-minute approval of their COVID plans, and while she appreciates restrictions have been rapidly evolving since the recent SA lockdown, this delay has been occurring since earlier in the year.
All eight shows went ahead in autumn but many, including Mount Barker and Mount Pleasant, only received the final plan sign off a couple of days out.
She hopes SA Country Shows and SA Health can work more closely together for the spring show season and expedite this process.
There are hours and hours of work for shows going into their plans, why are we not using what we already have from other shows that we know works?
- Rosie Schultz, SA Country Shows president
She would also like to see a show template developed that shows can base their plans on and adapt to their specific showgrounds and program.
"There are hours and hours of work for shows going into their plans, why are we not using what we already have from other shows that we know works?" she said.
Mrs Schultz is also calling for a designated SA Health employee to be allocated to assisting shows progress their plans.
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