It's autumn and that means showtime as country comes to towns on the Monaro

Autumn not only brings cooler nights and darker mornings on the Monaro, but it also means it’s the region’s agricultural show season.

Nimmitabel, Delegate, Dalgety, Cooma and Bombala all have an annual show at which the organisers bring the country to town for a weekend of fun and socialising.

Nimmitabel held its successful show in February, and this weekend the Two Ds (Delegate and Dalgety) swing into action.

The Delegate P&A Society will celebrate an incredible 114th show on 4 March and once again a bounty of local livestock, produce and artwork will be on display, served up with plenty of cheerful entertainment.

A Funkhana will add to the already jam-packed line-up of horse events, giving those young riders who don’t generally compete the chance to join the action.

While everyone will enjoy the equine events, as well as the traditional dog trials and dog jumps, there’ll be lots more to see around the ground, with showgoers casting their eyes over the many sheep and cattle being exhibited.

The children are always delighted to browse around the animals, but attractions such as the jumping castle, face painting, and the Barnyard Nursery will also be parent savers.

Majura Magic will perform at this year’s show for the first time.

At Dalgety, on the picturesque banks of the Snowy River, the town’s big day out is always popular with locals and visitors alike.

The theme for this year’s show will see us all looking up towards the moon and stars as we look beyond and “Out of this World”!

In July 2022, several pieces of space junk landed all around the Monaro, but especially around many farms just outside Dalgety, with the Australian Space Agency confirming that the first three pieces belonged to a SpaceX mission.

Loads of media from around Australia and overseas talked about the event and visited the sites of debris, making local farmers instant celebrities with their faces turning up in magazines, news bulletins and social media posts worldwide.

So, in line with this event for Dalgety, show organisers hope everyone enjoys the many facets of the program that will be a little bit “Out of this World”.

President Julie Hedger and her team have again worked hard to put together another memorable and exciting show for locals and visitors.

Then on 11 March, the 143rd Cooma Show will be held.

It has the theme ”Young Rural People” and this year, the committee has arranged for extra entertainment to be held on the Friday night, which will include sideshow rides and a sausage sizzle. All for a gold coin donation.

A special feature at this year’s Cooma Show is a quilt competition, with the theme of water. The two categories in this contest each have prizemoney of $500 (entries have now closed).

Also at this year’s Cooma Show, the best of the region’s beef cattle will be on display at the Zone 6 group final.

Competitors must be aged between 13 and 19 as of 1 May, 2023, to compete in the state finals at the Royal Easter Show.

As usual, the show has numerous competitions in the pavilion, including The Land Fruitcake competition, handcrafts, photography, cooking, sewing, fruit, flowers and vegetables.

A strong showing is also expected in the fleece classes.

The ring and showjumping program is another highlight.

Another special feature this year will be performances by the Airtime Freestyle Motorcross Team, who will entertain the crowd during the day and into the evening.

There will also be sideshows, a full bar and plenty of food outlets during the day.

The final show of the 2023 round is at Bombala on 18 March.

After yet another challenging year for the South-East NSW community, the Bombala Exhibition Society is keen to focus on supporting, mentoring and celebrating rural and regional youth at its next annual community show day.

“It’s been a really tough few years for our local youth, for so many reasons,” Bombala Exhibition Society president Sophie Campbell said.

“This is why Bombala Exhibition Society’s annual show day – to be held on Saturday, 18 March – will be running with the theme of ‘Celebrating Country Kids’.”

The Bombala Show volunteers are now putting the call out to involve as many local community groups and individuals as possible in this idea.

“The Exhibition Society is hoping to harness our community’s amazing strength, generosity and resilience in 2023, to create an event that deliberately focuses on delivering our region’s youth an event to remember,” Sophie said.

With support from the local community, including sporting clubs and schools, young people will enjoy a range of entertainment, activities and educational experiences while also having access to a range of mental and physical health services on the day.