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General News

13 March, 2023

Third time’s the charm for inaugural Goldfields Community Festival

After being postponed twice in the past year, Maryborough’s inaugural community festival is less than a week away — with free activities, food and entertainment, there’s something for everyone. Uplifting community connections, the countdown...

By Prealene Khera

Disc-tinctly fun, St Augustine’s Primary School’s Millie, Airlie, Pippa and Rose are playing Frisbee Golf — which is one of the many activities families can take up at the Goldfields Community Festival this weekend. Photo: 140323 21
Disc-tinctly fun, St Augustine’s Primary School’s Millie, Airlie, Pippa and Rose are playing Frisbee Golf — which is one of the many activities families can take up at the Goldfields Community Festival this weekend. Photo: 140323 21

After being postponed twice in the past year, Maryborough’s inaugural community festival is less than a week away — with free activities, food and entertainment, there’s something for everyone.

Uplifting community connections, the countdown for the Goldfields Community Festival — Connect and Celebrate has begun, with only four days to go.

The event is being spearheaded by Go Goldfields in partnership with the Committee for Maryborough, Maryborough Rotary and the Central Goldfields Shire Council.

Promising to be an action packed day for families, the festival will feature a climbing wall, laser tag, multiple performances and a variety of food and rides — all of which will be free.

Expected to leave its mark on visitors, Committee for Maryborough executive officer and festival coordinator Kerrie Dowling said after being cancelled twice, once due to COVID and the other because of the floods in October last year, the community banded together once again to prepare for the festival this time around.

“It’s been funny, because usually when you’ve planned something and then the event happens, you would get this feeling of euphoria at the end but since it’s been postponded two times, [that’s not happened],” she said.

“The buildup has started again and it’s been great. Everyone’s been so cooperative and helpful.

“People want to join in and do stuff — I’m really looking forward to it.”

Ms Dowling said the festival was a great opportunity for residents and locals to interact with existing community groups by visiting their stalls and tents.

“There’s a lot people can get out of the day, it’ll create an awareness of what’s available in the community, all in one area,” she said.

“I’m so impressed with the amount of services and local groups we have in this area. Though we’re not a large community, we have coverage on just about everything. I think it’s just a great opportunity to see what’s out there.

“The reason why groups are offering their services to all visitors for free is because they believe in this community and they know this is a great place — I’ve met so many great people along the way who are prepared to spend their time on the day to ensure everyone has a good time. There’s such a great reward at the end which makes the hard work worth it.”

With around 1000 people expected to attend, the future of the festival is also dependent on the community’s backing on the day.

“We need the support of people coming, for us to continue to run it next year or the year after. I’m definitely hoping we can run this as an annual event which gets bigger and better — that would be ideal but we need support,” Ms Dowling said.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to come and socialise and also support the efforts of the people putting up the stalls.

“Everything is free, people won’t have to put their hands in their pockets all day — so we’d appreciate if people attend because we do rely on their support to continue.”

The Goldfields Community Festival will kick off on Saturday, March 18 from 11 am to 4 pm at Maryborough’s Phillips Gardens.

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