FORECAST rain and three days of threatening clouds failed to dampen the spirits of Royal Bathurst Showgoers who turned out in force across the weekend.
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It was the second year running that weather was on the minds of everyone who attended the show, but the rain held off until about 6pm on Saturday, much to the relief of organisers.
By the time the rain did come, show patrons had already enjoyed a day-and-a-half of dry weather, and yesterday morning also dawned fine.
Bathurst Agricultural, Horticultural and Pastoral Association president Sam Farraway yesterday said the highlight of the show for him was the way show patrons were willing to risk the weather to come to see the show.
“It was very humbling to see they thought so highly of our show they were willing to risk it,” he said.
Mr Farraway said the rain did result in Morse Park closing to parking.
However, Bathurst Regional Council quickly opened up Carrington Park to ease some of the pressure on nearby streets.
Mr Farraway said that while the event was to some extent weather-affected, attendances were definitely up on last year, when it was bitterly cold.
“Last year was one of the worst weather-affected years we have experienced, so attendances were definitely up on that,” he said.
Mr Farraway said the people through the gates at Bathurst Showground on Friday and Saturday were up by 20 per cent both days.
He is positive about the future of the show.
“We can work with this,” Mr Farraway said.
“The show will be on again next year, there’s no doubt about that.”
Mr Farraway said despite steady rain falling during Saturday night’s program, all the scheduled events went ahead, including the fireworks.
The display started with the words “Bathurst 200” in celebration of Bathurst’s bicentenary and ended with shouted birthday wishes.
Mr Farraway added that when the rain drove everyone to seek shelter on Saturday night, many took the opportunity to explore the pavilions.
“I do feel for our commercial exhibitors, because they put a lot of resources into the show and it is important to have them here to engage with the community and provide diversity,” Mr Farraway said. “The amount of commercial exhibitors this year was a real highlight for me.”
Another highlight for Mr Farraway was the flow of patrons throughout the showground, with no empty spots and no dead areas.
He was particularly pleased with the success of the food and wine pavilion.
He said bringing the vignerons and the whole food co-op to the show has been part of the AH and P Association’s vision for the show for four years.
