Jaze Pink and family share heartbreaking story behind the Ekka festival's sweetest stall Pink's Dagwood Dogs

7NEWS

2 days ago

At Brisbane's Ekka, you will find soaring rollercoasters, children screaming with excitement, the scent of fried food thick in the air — and Jaze Pink elbow deep in fairy floss.
For many, the Royal Queensland Show is a once-a-year trip down memory lane filled with strawberry sundaes, Dagwood Dogs and showbags.
But for Jaze and her husband, Glenn, it's tradition, community and a lifeline through heartbreak.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: How the OG Dagwood Dog get dipped & fried
Jaze stands behind the counter at the iconic Pink's Dagwood Dogs, dressed head-to-toe in pink — from her ponytails to her outfit to her nails — with glitter on her face as she serves more than just golden-battered sausages and clouds of spun sugar.
She offers joy that is generously sprinkled with kindness, and served with a sparkle.
But beneath her glittering exterior is a heart that has endured unimaginable loss.
In February 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 lockdowns would grip the country, the Pink family was torn apart.
Three of Jaze and Glenn's seven children — Makayla, 17, Jackson, 19, and Jayden, 15 — were killed in a horrific crash in the NSW Hunter region.
The siblings were driving to pick up dinner when another vehicle crossed into their lane at high speed.
The impact was instant and catastrophic.
'We lost three of our babies in a moment,' Jaze said, her voice steady but soft.
'No one should ever know how that feels.'
It took everything they had to survive the days that followed, she told 7news.com.au.
'But I had to stand up,' she said.
She speaks of the three children she's lost — and the four she's raising — with deep gratitude.
'We had the most beautiful three children that have left, and we have the most beautiful four with us. How grateful am I to have experienced that?'
'I just had to make it through. My children in heaven, they would be proud. And my children on earth needed me to rise.'
Great-grandmother invented the famous snack
The Pink family name is legendary in show circuits across Australia, with roots tracing back over a century.
'Thelma Pink, my husband's great-grandmother, invented the Dagwood Dog,' Jaze explained with pride.
'She put a sausage on a stick, dipped it in batter, and called it a 'Dagwood Dog' — and the rest is history.'
And the recipe hasn't' changed in all those years.
Jaze met Glenn over 30 years ago on a trip to the snow.
Their friend 'accidentally' left them alone for an afternoon, and the rest — as they say — is showbiz history.
'It was instant magic,' she laughed. 'And I hope all our kids get to witness that kind of magic in their lives.'
Joining Glenn on the show circuit wasn't even a question.
'Over the years, we tried different things, but we always come back to our roots,' she said.
'And when you do, sometimes you realise, that's exactly where you're meant to be.'
On the other side of Glenn's family, the Browns were the first to spin fairy floss on Australian showgrounds.
Together, their two lineages have fused into a powerhouse of flavour, flair and family, from sideshow alley to the candy counter.
Today, their business spans three stalls at the Ekka and is run with the help of more than 25 relatives and extended crew.
It's a well-oiled, glitter-dusted machine, that helped them through the pain.
Rebuilding through connection
Her family calls Brisbane home and the Ekka the final stop every year in its 12-week stint from Bathurst all the way up to Cairns.
For Jaze, continuing the show circuit was both therapy and tribute.
She wears glitter not to hide the pain but to honour her children and to reflect light back into the world.
'People know our story, but when they see the glitter and the joy, they also see that we're still standing. That we're still choosing love,' she said.
And for those struggling, whether in grief, motherhood, or the chaos of daily life, she offers more than food at the Ekka. She offers kindness.
'I keep little hand fans at the stall,' Jaze explained.
'They read 'Peace, Love, Kindness'. When I see a mum with her hands full and her kids in tow, I give her one. It's my way of saying, 'I see you.'
As we talk, I offer a thought: grief is like a ball in a box. At first, the box is small and the ball hits every side. Every moment hurts.
But over time, the box grows. The grief stays the same, but it hits less often.
Still, sometimes, it strikes when you least expect it.
Jaze nods slowly. 'Yes,' she said. 'Exactly that.'
So what makes her box grow?
Family, faith, and the strangers who become friends with every smile across the counter, she explains.
'There was a little girl who lost her toy here at the Ekka,' she recalled.
'I saw her face — it just broke me. I gave her one of those fans, and when she smiled ... that was everything.'
Moments like this are sacred, that's what keeps her going, she said.
The show must go on
The Pinks have turned hardship into legacy.
During COVID-19, when the showgrounds fell silent and the crowds disappeared, so did the family's livelihood.
The food van was parked indefinitely and their income vanished almost overnight.
But Jaze and her family didn't fold. Instead, they adapted: salvaging leftover bricks from building sites and turning them into handmade fire pits in their backyard.
'We did whatever we could,' she said.
'It was hard, but we kept going. We had to.
'I was already living in grief before the pandemic hit,' Jaze said quietly, referring to the unimaginable loss of her three children.
'I don't think you ever move on.
'You just learn how to move with it.
'But then everyone else joined me in isolation and uncertainty.
'So I made it my mission to show people how to survive.'
Today, their two sons are at boarding school, preparing to return to the family business.
Their two daughters help run operations, and the grandparents live on their property in Brisbane and help raise the next generation.
After Ekka, the Pinks spend about two months at home before going away for a six week period over Christmas.
'We gather every year at our family carnival in Forster-Tuncurry,' Jaze said.
'That's our time to reconnect, regroup, and dream forward.
'Like everyone, we've experienced tragedy in our family.
'So, we all know the deep, meaningful connection of family that helps you move forward.'
Today, Jaze is a full member of the Showmen's Guild, a badge of honour in the industry.
As thousands pass by their stall at the Ekka, munching on the very Dagwood Dogs her family invented, Jaze said: 'What we serve may look simple — a sausage, some sugar — but it's made with love.
'What I want is to connect to anybody I can, and let them know that we're walking together on this road.
'Whether it's a small tragedy or a big one, it affects us all in different ways.
'And if we can create one core memory for a family, one moment of joy, then we've done our job.'
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