The ferocious storm that whipped across the Illawarra on Saturday evening put a bit of a dampener on the Albion Park Show, but crowds had plenty to enjoy earlier in the day.
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It was the first time the show had run for a couple of years: last year, COVID-19 forced its cancellation, while the previous year the bushfires put paid to plans.
While COVID numbers grew rapidly in the weeks preceding the event, show society president Michael Arthur said organisers had listened closely to advice from NSW Health and abided by any rules to ensure the show could go ahead.
Mr Arthur said the day had been going "extremely well" and a good crowd was building by late afternoon.
Farmers and producers showed off their hard work in the various competition classes, while show-goers had fun with camel rides, sideshow games and camel rides.
The outgoing Miss Showgirl, Sharon Alcorn, passed over her title to Chantelle Prosser, while three committee members were acknowledged in a presentation for their decades of service to the society.
Ron Thomas and Jim McInerney had given 50 and 51 years of service, and Colin Cook - although he could not be there on the day - was recognised for a huge 76 years with the society.
But then the storm rolled in, which Mr Arthur said dumped close to 40 millimetres of rain in about half an hour.
"I've never seen so much water come down in such a short time," he said.
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Part of the Centenary Hall was damaged - although luckily, the arts and crafts entries it held were not - and the grounds were left sodden.
"It was a bit chaotic there for a while," Mr Arthur said.
A couple of the much-anticipated camel races still went ahead but the animals were absent their riders.
The oval was far too wet for the demolition derby to go ahead and the pyrotechnicians had to call off their fireworks show, deeming it too dangerous.
The horse events scheduled for Sunday were also cancelled as a result of the previous evening's inclement weather.
"We were hoping for a good [show] this year, but we've got to take it on the chin," he said.
It was disappointing they were unable to put on a full show, Mr Arthur said, but looked forward to coming back next year "bigger and stronger".
But community members were understanding of the unfortunate situation and on social media expressed their sympathy that the show had to be cut short after all the hard work organisers had put in.
"Thank you to all who [put] so much time and effort into our show," one person said.
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