Aubrey Date: The Royal Adelaide Show
Unlike our last visit to the show when we were free from the shackles of employment, fan-favourite Hub interns Aubrey and Sophie are now full-time working girls. While this does mean more financial freedom, it also meant we were too busy to go to the show during the day. This would prove to be a new experience for Aubrey, who is me.
I’ve only ever been to the show during the day, mostly because I went as a child and it was getting past my bedtime when the sun started to set. As an adult, I have no excuse. So I was excited to discover what the show has to offer after dark.
As it turns out, it’s much the same as what’s on during the day, but it was difficult to shake the feeling that a lot of the best stuff was already over.
We started by doing the Yellow Brick Road, which was one of the many attractions just about to close up as we arrived. We did it in reverse order, which for the most part was inconsequential. It did, however, become clear to me why they leave the cold treats til last when we had to pause our journey three stops in to eat our ice cream before it melted. This proved to be fruitful, as it gave us time to listen to the Old Town Road Boot Scoot on the Western stage, which was unfortunately not popping off.
We made our way through the variety of loud rides, and when I say loud, I mean genuinely louder than the steel factory I work at. This brief overstimulation was rewarded with a light at the end of the tunnel: a twisted chip. Unemployed Aubrey would have simply scoffed at the idea of paying $10 for a potato on a stick (that they make you season yourself), but the new, older, wiser, employed Aubrey who has money to spare… still scoffs but pays for it anyway. Twisted chip thoughts: good stuff, I understand the hype, wish they hadn’t trusted me with the chicken salt because I messed it up, physically difficult to eat.
Showbags have always been my favourite part of the show, and it’s easy to see why. Hundreds of different brands, characters, and IPs are waiting for you at the showbag pavilion, and it jumpstarts the consumerist child in me who unfortunately now has disposable income and no parental guidance.
My quest was to find the Sonic Girls showbag (there is no Sonic Boys showbag, just a regular Sonic showbag, because being a boy is normal). I had my heart set on the Amy Rose necklace included, but a couple laps around the pavilion proved it to be nowhere to be found. I settled for the Sonic Normal showbag, which came with some sick Sonic ears and a yoyo that surely will not last more than a couple weeks. I took the $20 that I would have used to buy the Sonic Girls showbag, and spent it on a Knuckles the Echidna plush and a Game of Thrones showbag (side note: absolutely absurd that this is tucked away among the kid-friendly showbags). In a way, this was a Sonic Girls showbag of my own making.
Our exciting after-dark adventure ended with a bang. And more bangs. Very loud bangs. We sat and watched the fireworks, bizarrely set to Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia (apparently the result of an audience vote, but it seems impossible to me that more than one person voted for let alone remembered this almost 15 year-old song). This didn’t really matter, however, as the sheer volume of the fireworks overpowered the music, and I couldn’t actually tell if it was synced or not. They could be lying for all I know.
All in all, the show was just as much fun after dark! Don’t expect to see many animals though, except if you went on Thursday the 10th, you would’ve seen me and Sophie (party animals).