That cycle of life is made up of the regular events and occasions that roll around each year, those little milestones that create each distinct community across the country.

Two of the most significant events on the Bathurst calendar each year are the Royal Bathurst Show and our Proclamation Day celebrations which, by a quirk of the phases of the moon, fall on the same weekend this year.

The return of the show on Friday brought with it the best rain the region has seen in more than a month.

It must be a bittersweet feeling for the organisers from the Bathurst Agricultural, Horticultural and Pastoral Association to wake on the first morning of the show and see dark clouds overhead.

On the one hand, they know that inclement weather will inevitably impact on gate takings which, given the skinny margins built into the show's finances, will have a knock-on effect on planning for next year's event.

On the other hand, though, the Royal Bathurst Show, at its heart, remains an agricultural event and that community is crying out for every drop of rain it can get at the moment.

The return of the show also heralds the return of complaints about the prices, particularly the entry fees.

But while a day at the show is not cheap by any means, the entry prices do stack up against other family events.

The $66 for a family of five paid to get in the front gate at the show compares very favourably to a trip to the movies but for up to 13 hours of entertainment on the Saturday compared to two at the movies.

Ride prices are set by the visiting operators but even then discounts are available for showgoers who get in early.

Even given all that, though, it's understandable that some families cannot afford to go. That's an unfortunate fact of life, but it's unfair to take it out on the show organisers who commit countless hours of their own time to make the show happen every year.

Come late this evening, though, the show will be over, the displays will be taken down and the rides will be packed up and start moving onto the next city.

But it will all be back again next year with the same excitement, the same complaints and - hopefully - the same rain for the farmers.