Royal Darwin Show 2019 Time! Our Top Tips for going with your family

Royal Darwin Show 2019

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The Royal Darwin Show is happening Thursday 25th, Friday 26th and Saturday 27th of July. Show time can be super exciting for the whole family! There is normally a big “Show” in every capital city and taking your family to a big show can be a bit overwhelming and full of excitement for little ones. We have rounded up some great tips from our members and put them together for you to prepare and have the best day out with your little ones for heading to the Royal Darwin Show!

The Royal Darwin Show 2019  will open 9 am to 10 pm each day. If you want to avoid a line up for tickets and save a bit of money you can purchase them online here . Online tickets – Adults are $20, Children under 5 are FREE, Children 5-14 are $12, or a Family Pass (2 adults and 3 children U14) is $50. Pensioners are $12. Thursdays adult entry before 3pm is only $12. Ticket prices at the gate are slightly more expensive.

The Royal Darwin Show takes place at the showgrounds which are located at 1 Tate Place Winnellie. Parking can be quite busy so plan your day and be patient with the crowds.

Some of the show highlights this year include:

The Kidzone, upstairs in the air-conditioned Foskey Pavilion. There’s a parents rest area and a program of FREE fun activities over two days, Friday and Saturday between 11am-3pm, for the little ones. And kids, keep an eye out for the quirky roving theatrical stilt walkers around
the showgrounds.

Don’t miss this year’s great Indigenous cultural showcase upstairs in the Foskey Pavilion, featuring Pudakul, Paperbark Woman popup shops and Aboriginal Bush Traders. Join in the traditional weaving and painting demonstrations, learn how to strip and roll palm fibre and weave a
bracelet. There’ll be story time for kids, as well as handmade Aboriginal design printed fabrics, art, fabrics, bush foods, homewares and beauty products and gifts for sale.

The Yellow Brick Road Adventures are back at the Royal Darwin Show! I still remember doing the Yellow Brick Road adventure as a kid!! This year’s adventure map will take children and their families on a fun, rewarding and educational journey around the show, in search of participating stalls, as they explore and visit the best of what the show has to offer! Proceeds go to Give Me 5 for Kids for the children’s ward at the Royal Darwin Hospital, and Kidzone educational activities at the Show.

Planning ahead of the big day will help your Royal Darwin  show 2019 experience go a little more smoothly. Here are our tips and some of the Darwin Family Life Members tips too:

Our Tips for going to the Royal Darwin Show 2019 with your family:

1. It is going to be busy and crowded – dress your kids in bright colours (and maybe even same colour) so they are easy to spot in the crowd.

2. Take a photo of your kids on the morning of the show before you leave in case they get lost easier to give description of what they are wearing.

3. Make sure your child knows your actual name and their name, and how old they are – if they do get lost – it can help you be reunited.

4. Write your mobile number on your child’s arm in permanent ink and choose a spot where you will meet if you are separated.

5. Only take the money you plan to spend and do not get anymore out. Let your child decide they want a show bag then take that out and the rest is for drinks/food and rides. Our child is told how much he has and roughly how many rides he can go on.

6. In past we have taken frozen water and sandwich’s as they defrost and are fresh also cooling you down. Leaves more money for rides and treats and yes the all important show bag.

7. Unless you want to watch the fireworks or your kids are older and want to to do evening/nighttime rides, I suggest going on the Thursday arvo. Avoid the major crowds and get all the good stuff before it’s gone. Thursday ticket prices are cheaper for adults before 3 pm too! Normally Thursdays are lots of younger families.

Royal Darwin Show clown games

8. Set a limit for your child on the number of rides or games they can play. Have a look around and then let them pick what they would like to do. It can avoid lots of begging and pledding from your kids if they know clearly from the start how many they can have a go on.

9. We always freeze a couple of bottles of water and wrap thin tea towels around them great for a quick cool down on kids faces and arms and legs and water keeps nice and cold

10. There will be lots of live entertainment to keep the whole family entertained. Show-goers of all ages can enjoy the Amazing Drumming Monkeys plus there’s interactive songs and dances and loads of family fun including sensational circus acts, fire eating and exciting acrobatic performances. If you think you’ve got the moves, this year’s incredible dance line-up is sure to inspire! Be amazed by original hip hop, line-dancing, contemporary dancers, charming Irish dancers and the Milingimbi dancers, just to name a few. With a mixture of magic, modern and cultural dance, and a variety of music styles, there is something for everyone to enjoy!

11. Set a limit for show bags for your kids – we normally get the kids to choose one each – within a certain price range.

12. Do like I do and get the grandparents to take them or come along. (Haha nice idea! 😉

pigs at Royal Darwin Show

13. Visiting the farm yard animals is always a hit with the younger kids. You can see pigs, sheep, chickens and much more on show and see which ones have won prizes too!

14. Check out the show entries that kids and adults have entered. All kinds of artwork, creations, baked goods and more – it is fun to see all the Royal Darwin show entries.

15. Pack your own snacks (pretzels, popcorn, fruit, muffins sandwiches, drinks etc) This will save you a small fortune on the cost of food at the show. But also it will be healthier options than some of the fried food available.

16. Check out the action on the show fields and show events – there is always something fun happening from horse jumping, dog obedience, cats on display – animals are always a hit with the kids! These are also FREE to do so can entertain the family without having to spend more money.

17. If you child does become lost – one of the best pieces of advice I read in a recent blog was to repeat loudly a description of the child. For example: looking for a little girl who is 3 years old, brown hair and wearing a pink dress. This makes it obvious who you are looking for quickly. Shout it loud and clear and get others around you to help.

18. If your child becomes lost another great idea is for the child to find a Mum with a pram. They are normally a “safe grown up” option for them to get help from.

29. Remember to slip slop slap – and reapply sunscreen during the day and wear hats. Even on our cooler dry season days the sun can burn and dehydration is no fun.

We hope you have lots of fun at the Royal Darwin Show 2019! We love to see your photos so feel free to share them in our Community Hub Facebook group – join us here if your not a member already.

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