The event will take a walk down memory lane to remember the show in the olden days and reflect on its role in the community now and into the future.

It will also coincide with the second round of judging in the inaugural 2022 Maitland Young Woman Competition.

The competition replaces the longstanding Maitland Showgirl quest and the winner will be announced at the end of the event.

Maitland Showground manager Brett Gleeson said Hilton Grugeon was the guest speaker but he had to pull out at the last minute due to illness.

A replacement was being organised on Friday.

"It's going to be a good night, it's a combination of the 160^th Show and also the Maitland Young Woman 2022 judging and presentation," Mr Gleeson said.

"We've got the 4 entrants and we'll have the current showgirl Hayley Johns speak about her experience in the role.

"The entrants will do a five minute presentation on stage about themselves and what they would bring to the show and their connection to agriculture and horticulture.

"Afterwards they get a couple of questions about their presentation which helps to test their public speaking skills."

The McDonald Pavilion, which is underneath the grandstand, will be transformed into a function centre for the event.

"We've got a cake to cut and then we will have the announcement of the 2022 Maitland Young Woman and the runner-up," Mr Gleeson said.

The event was supposed to be held last year but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Young Woman Competition was supposed to take place before this year's Maitland Show but it was also delayed because of COVID-19.

Maitland Young Woman Competition coordinator Margaret Enright said all four entrants - Amy Newton, Gemalla de Beuzeville-Howarth, Tatjana Reid and Jaslyn Walters performed well in their interviews with the judging panel on May 6.

"The judging was wonderful. It's going to be very difficult for the judges to pick between the four of them," Mrs Enright said.

"We did it in the show office this year and it was so relaxing. We had afternoon tea with the judges and the entrants afterwards and sat around and chatted and it was lovely."

The judges are Maitland Business Chamber president Shane Hamilton, 2022 Local Woman of the Year, and Maitland CWA president, Barbara Heckman and Hunter River Agricultural and Horticultural Association vice president Judy Mead.

In the news:

Do you know you can subscribe to get full access to all Maitland Mercury stories? Subscribing supports us in our local news coverage. To subscribe, click here.