Despite a washed out Sunday, Sunbury residents braved the heat to enjoy a day of community-focused fun at SunFest, with the committee now preparing for the 50th anniversary next year.
Hosted on the weekend of March 15–16, the Saturday schedule went ahead as planned, uniting the Sunbury community with carnival rides, live entertainment, market and food stalls, roving entertainment, and a grand street parade – featuring 600 children and 250 adults.
There was a Battle of the Bands, with local schools facing off and showcasing their musical talents.
The day ended with a bang with a fireworks display from 9pm and live music until 11pm.
Due to the rainy forecast for Sunday, president Angus McTaggart said the committee made the difficult decision to cancel the day, due to safety concerns and the risk of damage to the festival audio-visual equipment – which meant that live entertainment could not go ahead.
“It wasn’t a decision that was made lightly … [our] group of volunteers … put a whole year’s worth of effort, dedication, passion, and time into putting this free entertainment event on for the community, so it was as devastating for us as it was for everyone else not being able to come and enjoy,” Mr McTaggart said.
“But we had an awesome and … amazing Saturday … we had the whole community [enjoying] the free entertainment, the free stalls and market stalls. The yearly grand street parade was able to go ahead and everyone was able to enjoy the cars and vehicles and people marching down the centre of Sunbury.”
Despite the unfortunate weather and cancellation, Mr McTaggart said the committee remains steadfast as it begins to prepare for the 50th anniversary of the festival next year.
The committee is currently looking for new members to work towards next year and invites interested people to attend its upcoming annual general meeting, with dates to be confirmed on social media.
“Being able to see all of our hard work and families enjoying it, kids enjoying it, seeing everyone’s smiling faces is an absolutely amazing thing and that’s why we all do it,” Mr McTaggart said.
Details: facebook.com/sunfest.sunbury
