Tickets for the north’s biggest farming event are now on sale.
The Black Isle Show, now in its 180th year, will take place on August 2 and 3 at the Mannsfield Showground in Muir of Ord.
New to this year’s event is a charity tractor pulling extravaganza which will take place on the show’s preview night with a prize pot of £2,500.
And it is also part of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017 and will feature numerous events such as a vintage tractor parade and a discovery area, where visitors can take a look back and experience techniques from through the ages.
Rod Mackenzie, the show’s secretary, said: “The Black Isle Show is 180 years old and this year we are marking that fact by celebrating the year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.
“We have loads of sideshow events planned which fit in with this theme but the biggest has to be a discovery area where people can learn about farming and how it has evolved over the years. There will be lots of ‘have a go’ attractions too so it’s great for small and big kids alike.”
Mr Mackenzie, who has been involved with the show for 12 years, added: “We have also decided that at our preview event on August 2 we will stage a tractor pulling contest as part of the ring entertainment. We aim to have up to 28 teams of five people representing charities and community groups from around the region. Whilst the Black Isle Show has charity status, we wanted to ensure that we are also doing our turn to benefit the community which has supported us for all these years and we thought a tractor pulling contest was a fun and relevant way to do this. We are encouraging teams to go to our website to register interest.”
This year’s Black Isle Show will again feature the usual favourites such as the livestock parade, more than 300 traders and stallholders, the craft and food hall, funfair and speciality bars and beer tents.
Making a comeback this year will be the dancing sheep and for the first time, crowds will be wowed by the Backdraft fire engine which will be pirouetting, showing off its wheelies and blowing flames 10ft into the sky.
Tickets at an early-bird rate can be bought – along with registering interest for the tractor pulling event – at www.blackisleshow.info