The director of the Canterbury A&P Show, which opens on Wednesday, says it will offer a slice of normality for residents trying to recover from the February earthquake.
The three-day event is at Canterbury Agricultural Park in Middleton, south-west Christchurch.
Director Rae Finlay says livestock entries for judging are down slightly on last year, at about 6,500.
However, she says the show is always the biggest of its kind in the country and this year's event includes a new home and garden pavilion, an expanded wine and food exhibition, and a giant petting zoo.
She says another feature will be a choreographed routine of 50 Clydesdale horses to mark the centenary of the Clydesdale Horse Society of New Zealand.
She says she hopes the familiarity of the A&P show will help Cantabrians to relax.
Ms Finlay says 106,000 people from across the country turned out for last year's event, which included the judging of nearly 7000 animals.
She says pre-sales of tickets are already up on last year.
