Maydale Reserve has undergone a renovation, with the demolition of the half-a-century old Len Hobbs meeting room and the McGennisken Hall to make way for new showground facilities.

Federal government funding has allowed the committee to start construction on a new office building, a new all-abilities toilet block and lighting and power upgrades to the reserve.

Horsham Agricultural Society secretary Andrea Cross said the committee would repurpose as many materials as possible from the demolition.

"We recovered the kitchen, all the windows and the flood boards. The windows have been reused in the new office and the flood boards have been made into a door," she said.

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"We still have the sign, so we are going to pop that up in the office as well.

"We have tried to recycle as much as we could from the buildings which couldn't be relocated or used. It was past its use-by date."

The McGennisken Hall, built from the proceeds of wheat bushel sale in the 1950s, had fallen into a state of disrepair; unfortunately, termites damaged the Len Hobbs meeting room.

Ms Cross said the renovations were part of a behind-the-scenes beautification project the committee had undertaken to lead up to the 2021s event roster.

"There were parts of the building that had become an eyesore, so it is part of a beautification project that the management committee is doing over there," she said.

"We hope that we don't have a repeat of 2020. We will continue to have interruptions with lockdowns, and in the events management industry, which we are over here, it is really hard to plan events. You always have to be ready for a cancellation or postponement.

"That will be a challenge for a few years to come, so we'll make hay when the sun shines."

She said the agricultural society was focused on its four signature events; The Horsham Agricultural Show, the 150km Feast, the Horsham Merino Sheep Show and the New Years Eve event.

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The society has also started working closely with the Art Is... festival and will host its Winter Warmer bonfire event at the Maydale Reserve this week.

Ms Cross said despite this, the committee was still hesitant in approaching 2021.

"We have just seen this week that all the shows in the Northern Territory have been cancelled. A lot of those shows would have been cancelled last year so another cancellation must have been heart-wrenching for our brothers and sisters up there in the Northern Territory," she said.

"We have already made the decision as a committee; if there is a lockdown, even if it is a week before the show, we have to cancel. We are not going to postpone; we are going to go digital, we will have to cancel.

"The repercussions of that are short-term and long-term, and they play with your mind. Physically, having to bounce back straight away thinking what date can we put forward again - really knocks the stuffing out of you.

"It is an enormous mental load, and if you are not in the events scene, I don't think you can understand.

"In the entertainment scene there are millions of people who cannot practice their craft, they can't do what they do."

The Maydale Reserve will host the Winter Warmer Art Is... Festival event at 6pm on Saturday, July 3. To book, visit https://www.artiswimmera.com/winterwarmer.

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