It opened with a friendly Footy match on Friday, followed by a bunggul and disco that got the kids dancing. Good dancers were awarded with prize vouchers they could spend at the store.
Saturday was filled with stalls from all the organisations in town. The school ran a BBQ and sold cupcakes, Sunrise Health told kids the importance of washing hands and even had CPR dummies out for practice, while the Rangers, Roper Council, Stronger Communities, and Selena Uibo had stalls with information and competitions.
With the pool open for those who wanted to cool off, Footy was being played on the oval, and the competitive Basketball games got underway in the rec hall. The traditional spear throwing competition was held during a pause in the games. Saturday night saw more bunggul, and after some late technical glitches which delayed the start, bands playing from 8 pm until 3 am in the morning.
The night opened with the Collins Sisters, Richard Collins, and the Bad Tees. New Boys Band from Utopia put on a show, followed by the Lonely Boys, T Lynx, Juram, Tax Man, Black Cloud, and finally Yugul Voice to finish the night. The temporary outdoor stage – a first in a while – was well received and the dancing pit was going off all night. The audio was noticeably better than previous years (which had been held inside the Rec Hall) and fire pits placed around the outside greatly helped those in need of warmth.
With everyone recovering from late night music, Sunday started late but soon got underway with finals for Basketball and Football. The winning teams and runners up were awarded their prizes, with medals for each of the players.
And finally it was another night of music, opening with the church group, before turning into an all night jam session for the bands, running until early the next morning.
Special thanks goes to all those who helped organise and run the Festival this year and those who came out to visit. We look forward to seeing you return for 2020.