Due to a grant provided through the Department of Communities and Justice, the Showgirl Committee are able to offer free entry into the competition for all entrants this year.

"We have been fortunate enough to win a grant from the Department of Communities and Justice to celebrate NSW Women's Week. As such, our competition will be partly funded by them and the remainder by our major showgirl sponsor, Saltwater Hairstyles," Showgirl Coordinator Elizabeth Jackson said.

The committee will be holding a two-day event on March 13 and 14 to celebrate NSW Women's Week and launch the 2021 Kempsey Showgirl competition.

"We're trying to run the competition differently this year by running a workshop on March 13 for entrants of the showgirl competition and women and girls in the community who are interested in learning skills to prepare them for the workforce," Elizabeth said.

"We will have a number of guest speakers including council's General Manager Craig Milburn, to workshop important skills for young women including interviews, public speaking, presentation, etiquette, and careers in agriculture."

The showgirl committee is also hoping to involve all entrants of the competition at this year's Kempsey Show.

"We want all of the entrants to feel included and are working on giving feedback so that if they enter the competition again in the future they will be prepared. I also want to engage all of the entrants at the 2021 Kempsey Show.

"The senior entrants also will be judged slightly different this year, the interview only forms part of the decision, and we will also have judges accompany our entrants around the show on April 12 to consider their community involvement and interest in the show."

The workshop event will be held on March 13 at the Kempsey Showground and will run from 9am to 4pm. Lunch will be provided and there are limited spots available.

The 2021 Kempsey Showgirl competition will be held on March 14 at the Kempsey Macleay RSL Club. Entry forms are available on the Kempsey Show website. Junior judging will be held in the morning and includes a complimentary morning tea, the teen judging will be held in the afternoon followed by a dinner with the senior entrants and judges and the senior judging will follow the sit-down dinner.

Prizes will be awarded for all placegetters and senior entrants will receive a complimentary uniform to wear at the show. All entrants will also receive free entry into the 2021 Kempsey Show with the winners announced on the Tuesday night of the show.

Age categories for the 2021 Showgirl competition are:

"I do encourage anyone who is interested to enter the competition. Being the 2018 Kempsey Showgirl has opened so many doors for me and it has been such an amazing experience to be more involved in the local community," Elizabeth said.

For more information on the workshop event and the competition, email the Showgirl Committee at kempseyshowgirl@gmail.com.

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