The show will not go on in Wodonga or Henty, with a horror 2020 causing both towns to cancel this year's events.
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Wodonga Show secretary Vanessa Bartling said 2020 was a heart-breaking year with bushfires, the pandemic and restrictions leaving the society unable to operate the caravan park they need to generate funds.
For more than eight months the society had no income as the showground was transformed first into an evacuation and relief centre to house those displaced in the Black Summer fires and later into a COVID-testing clinic.
"We thought we'd be right at Christmas time, we opened up the caravan park but next minute there's a COVID testing clinic on site," she said.
"It's been a really rough year."
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Mrs Bartling said the committee was devastated about the cancellation of the March show but had no other option.
"There's nothing we can do but grin and bear it," she said.
"It's heartbreaking for us.
"We love to run the show because we run it for the people of Wodonga... it's heartbreaking because we feel we're letting people down."
The society applied for grants through the government's Supporting Agricultural Shows scheme but because the 2020 event was unaffected by COVID they were unsuccessful.
It will be the second time in the annual event's 74 year history the show will not run.
Similarly, the Henty Agricultural Show schedule for February will not go ahead for just the second time in its 116 year run.
Society secretary Kerry Small said council's redevelopment of the Henty Sportsground meant neither the football nor the show could be hosted on the ground until after March.
Without being able to run the horse events, the show wouldn't be the same, Mrs Small said.
However the final death knell was the fear COVID-19 would spread to the small town.
"We decided it wasn't worth the risk," Mrs Small said.
"It's disappointing because we've only missed one in the whole time the show has been running, in the war years.
"We're very sorry we've called it off but it's out of our hands."
Both Mrs Bartling and Mrs Small called for their respective communities to come out and support them in 2022 when the annual events start again.
Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
