See y’all in Virginia for today’s Show!

The cattle are all scrubbed up and looking their best, the produce are lined up in neat rows for judges’ inspection, the entertainment has kicked off and the crowds are rolling up.
“Meet me in St Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,” sang Judy Garland in 1944. Today, the same line applies to Virginia (as, indeed, it did back in 1944, with this year’s Virginia Show being the 72nd).
Some 15,000 people are set to converge on the show grounds today, as has been the standard in recent years.
The 3,200 exhibits for 470 classes are out looking for validation as “the best” in all things that come from a farm - the best beef bullock, the best weanling, the best vegetables, the best flowers, the best baking, even the best gluten-free bread.
Expect a particularly big crowd around the crowning of the Diageo Baileys Irish Champion Cow, as it’s the 30th anniversary.
There will also be a ‘Gathering’ of farmers, including visitors from England, Wales, Holland and Northern Ireland to mark the year that’s in it.
Of course, if you’re a farmer or lover of all things to do with the land and nature, you’ll be in heaven, but Virginia Show is also a day out for those less connected with agriculture. There’s a gig rig with music and dance performances, and Declan Nerney headlines the show dance in Club V in the Riverfront Hotel tonight.