If you haven’t already got your hands on a copy of this year’s Foster Show schedule, be sure to keep an eye out around town with the following locations regularly topped up: Foster and Fish Creek Post Offices, Foster Foodworks, Foster Vet Clinic, Ag Warehouse Foster and Brown Wigg Meeniyan. You’ll find all the competitions on offer for showday to give you great inspiration for school holiday/hot weather crafting; photos to snap and; show day competitions to start training for, such as the Gumboot Toss – returning in 2026 with great prizes on offer from Bata Footwear.
The feature event at this year’s show will be the 30th Annual International Back to Back Wool Challenge – a race against the clock to be the fastest team to shear a sheep and turn its wool into a handspun and knitted adult jumper. The sheep must be shorn by a blade shearer, a rare skill nowadays, and the seven spinning and knitting team members then work furiously towards the fastest completion time. Last year the Koorooman Sapphire Ewes achieved a personal best time of 12 hours, 44 minutes and 22 seconds. The world record is currently held by an Australian team from Merriwa NSW with a time of 4 hours, 51 minutes and 14 seconds recorded in 2004!
We don’t expect the knitting to be finished until Saturday evening and we’d love
to see locals come and cheer the teams towards the finish line. The whole show will be celebrating this exciting addition by incorporating the sheep and wool theme across many other sections including Home Produce (decorated cake and cupcakes), Creative Art, Craft, Sewing and Needlecraft, Knitting and Crochet and Foster Show Fashions.
On Farm Challenges are on offer again in 2026 and we’d love to see lots of locals involved. There’ll be a competitors’ showday brekky as part of the presentation in the footy clubrooms.
Silage, Bale Art, Beef and Dairy competitions are a great way to show
off what you do best from the comfort of your own farm. Similarly, the Garden Competition brings judges to your backyard, so make sure you’re on their list to show off the garden treasures you’ve worked hard to maintain. Keep an eye on our socials or contact section stewards for more information.
The show buzz is starting with signs going up and sponsor ribbons being proudly displayed in local businesses. We are so grateful to have many local families and businesses who sponsor our show each year, without their support the show would simply not be possible. Please remember to shop locally to support local businesses that keep community events like the show running for all to enjoy. Den Gilheany
