Attractions - Day Trips in Brisbane: Ekka

The Ekka is the annual show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition and therefore is now usually known as Ekka, due to the phenomenon in Australian English of shortening lengthy words.

The Ekka is held in Queensland's capital city, Brisbane, for ten days each August at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. The Ekka is organised by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA), and is held at the RNA Showgrounds in the inner-city suburb of Bowen Hills approximately two kilometres north-east of Brisbane's city centre. The Ekka is Brisbane's most popular event of any sort, with well over 600,000 visitors attending the show in recent years.

Attractions at Ekka include fairground rides, a sideshow alley, animal parades, woodchopping competitions, agricultural displays and equestrian events. Showbags, usually containing food items (such as confectionery) and novelty items are sold in the Showbag Pavilion. Side show alley in particular has been an integral part of the Ekka, however back in the earlier years of the Ekka, side show alley was a place for people to witness actual sideshows, such as freaks of nature, people carrying out superhuman feats of strength and illusionists performing for delighted audiences. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)