Returning to Exhibition Park from Friday 26th February to Sunday 28th February, at least 90,000 people are expected to mill through more than 150 attractions, 450 trade stalls and see 5000 animals.

When you look at it that way, it can be a little daunting.

This is why we've popped together a guide of some of the highlights of what you should see, as well as some logistics to get you there safely.

Discounted pre-purchased show tickets are available online at the ActewAGL Assist Store in Civic and the ActewAGL Energy Shop until February 25.

If you miss out on the pre-purchased tickets, you can still buy Canberra Show tickets at the gate.

Entry costs at the gate will set you back $25 for an adult and $12 for each child aged 6-16 years.

Children under 6 can enter for free and student tickets are $18.

Pensioners who hold an aged, invalid, TPI or war widow card can get in for $18 and any senior card holder can also get in for $18.

Early birds can get an adult ticket for just $18 between 8.30am and 12pm on Friday only.

Family passes are:

Ticketholders should be aware there will be no pass outs.

There will be scary rides aplenty for thrillseekers.

What's a day at the show without ralphing up your recently digested Dagwood Dog?

New to the show is the Avenger, which has been described as "three minutes of hell".

The million-dollar ride spins on three axes, making those strapped in feel like they're in a washing machine without the water.

Also back for your puking pleasure are Techno Jump, Breakdancer, No Limit, Cha Cha, Thunderbolt , Speed 2, Freakout, XXXL, Dodgem Cars, Ghost Train, 9D Cinema, Ferris Wheel, Shockwave, Music Trip, Gravitron, Ali Baba, Jumping Castles, Bungy Trampoline, Kids Rides, Pony Rides, Hurricane, Four Wheel Motorbikes, Sea Circus and Fun House.

Kids' rides are priced up to $6 while most other rides are between $7 and $10. Extreme rides will set you back up to $15.

Flyball at last year's Royal Canberra Show. Ph

If the thought of the Avenger makes you queasy, there are plenty of other activities and displays to keep you entertained.

The freestyle motocross is ready to thrill while Holden, Ford and Isuzu will push utes to their limit in their respective driving displays.

You can even see how your own ride measures up in the Canberra Toyota Ute muster.

The brand-new Heritage Park will feature old farming machinery, including early tractors, Land Rovers and pumps.

The National Flyball championships takes playing fetch with your dog to a whole new level and will be on across the weekend.

The day will wind up with a fireworks spectacular over the main area on Friday and Saturday nights.

Of course, the real reason agricultural shows are held are for farmers to showcase their livestock.

Ian Elkins, the national shearing champion who gave Canberra's Chris the sheep his life-saving haircut, will deliver a display on sheep handling and shearing.

There will also a milking barn and plenty of sheep and cattle judging pens to wander around.

It's not just your conventional farm animals strutting their stuff though. There'll be a dog and cat show (obviously not together) as well as many different breeds of guinea pig competing for top honours.

Keep an eye out for the farmyard nursery too, where children can meet, pat and hold baby animals.

One to watch will be the campdrafting in the main arena. For the uninitiated, campdrafting is a sport unique to Australia where a rider on horseback must isolate a cow from a mob of cattle and drive it around a set course.

If there is a horse lover in your family, there'll be pony rides and showjumping to keep them enthralled.

The working dog displays will also draw a crowd with the ACT yard dog trial championships to be held on Sunday.

If that's not enough excitement for you, watch pigs race through a hay bale maze across from the farmyard nursery.

It's not only fairy floss available. Photo: Simon Bennett

Fancy chowing down on alpaca? You can at the Canberra Show.

There are two food courts to choose from as well as other vendors tucked throughout the showground.

The family food court has a great view of the main arena and there's plenty of choice to keep all of the members of the family happy like beef burgers, pizza, and free range pulled pork.

In the hearty choice food court, you can get a healthier selection of foods including salads and baked potatoes. There will also be Greek and Indian food as well as traditional Turkish gozleme.

There are also plenty of tasty treats to try in the Harvest Hall and on Sideshow Alley. You can use pre-purchased bonus dollar coupons to buy food and drink within the alley.

There will also be gluten-free options available at the show, including German sausages and classic chicken tikka.

And yes, you can taste alpaca meat. You can find it at the National Corporate Group Focus on Fibre marquee, along with prize-winning sheep and alpaca fleeces.

Michael Neuss of Higgins with his daughters, Kasey and Zoe at last year's Royal Canberra Show.

There are hundreds of showbags to choose from this year and while it's hard to choose favourites, the Dragons Bag which includes a Toothless backpack and an inflatable shield and sword deserves a mention.

In fact, pretty much all of the big kids movie franchises are there, including Frozen, Jurassic World and the Avengers.

Footy fans of all codes should be placated with NRL and AFL show bags on sale. There's even a Liverpool Football Supporters Bag complete with a backpack, soccer ball and pump and collapsible drink bottle, among other items.

Mums will be pleased with the Sukin Pamper Pack while the Aussie Bogan Showbag, with a mullet, drinking cap and inflatable Aussie flag bat is sure to impress some.

Check out the full list of showbags here.

Alpaca judging at the Royal Canberra Show on Saturday.

Punters with pre-purchased tickets are eligible for a free return ACTION Bus to the show.

There will be free evening shuttle buses on Friday and Saturday nights between EPIC and the City Bus Station from 7.30pm until midnight with connecting buses from there.

EPIC is serviced by the high frequency Red Rapid 200 series (Routes 200, 251, 252, 255, 259) and Routes 56, 57 and 58.

The Blue Rapid series operate every 10 minutes or better between 7 am and 7 pm and every 15 minutes until last service. EPIC is serviced by Routes 950, 956 and 958.

From other bus stations or major town centres, catch a Blue Rapid service (Route 900) and disembark at the City Bus Station and proceed to Platform 8 for connecting services to the Show (950, 956 or 958).

The Blue Rapid series operates every 15 minutes from first to last service.

Additional 900 and 950 services will be running throughout the day to ensure that capacity is available.

If you plan on bringing your car, there will be parking on Wells Station Road (via Sandford Street or Northbourne Avenue) and Randwick Road (via Flemington Road).

There will be a $10 fee though and organisers say parking is at your own risk.

No parking is allowed on the verges of Flemington Road, Randwick Road, Morisset Road or Wells Station Road.

There's a taxi rank on the Flemington Road entrance to EPIC too.

The clouds gathered for last year's show but there's only a slight chance of a shower this year. Photo: Jamila Toderas

The cool change expected to sweep through Canberra at the tail end of this week will bring a slight reprieve to those heading to the show on Friday.

While the temperature is predicted to hit 31 degrees, there's the possibility of a shower and light winds becoming north to north-westerly later in the day.

Saturday will be slightly cooler, with a top of 27 degrees predicted. Again there will be a slight chance of a shower with light winds too.

For more information and for the full list of activities and events, check out canberrashow.org.au.