THE township of Hamilton is getting into the spirit of sheepish activities ahead of Sheepvention Rural Expo 2024 with Shaun the Sheep hitting the streets to award the winners for the Best Dressed Shop Windows.

Place getters received a Certificate of Sheepification and free tickets for entry into Sheepvention 2024.

First place went to Taylor Toyota for the sculpture (featured in Saturday’s Spec) made by their service advisor, Craig Goodman, who crafted a ram from various scrap materials including motorbike chains and farrier rasps.

Second place went to Western District Health Service Op Shop whose windows were beautifully decorated with colourful sheep crafted by Merino Consolidated School students on one side of the shopfront, and mannequin shearers with shearing equipment on the other.

Most creative shop name went to Toyworld who changed their name to Sheepworld and second place went to Brown Bird Haus who changed their name to Black Sheep Haus.

Sheepvention president, David Botterill who dressed up as Shaun the Sheep for the presentations said the annual competition was integral to the community gearing up for the big event.

“It helps promote Sheepvention and links us to the town,” he said.

“We rely on shop owners to support us and this is one way to show gratitude for what they do.

“The competition helps invigorate the town.

“It enables owners to get creative and really show appreciation for what the event brings to the town.”

Mr Botterill said everything was going according to plan at the Hamilton Showgrounds ahead of the event.

“Everything is on track - everything is filling up really well - we’ve got strong numbers of exhibitors this year,” he said.

“The new shed is going to make a really big difference. It’s obviously an amazing venue up there now.”