September 16, 2014
This year’s Bloomin’ Beautiful Blackbutt Festival was “the best in the last three years” according to Festival chairman Jeff Connor.
Festival goers enjoyed some genuinely pleasant Spring weather in the Timber Town on Saturday and Sunday, and they came in their thousands to take advantage of it.
On Saturday morning the Festival’s six venues were packed with fun-seekers eager to explore the dozens of market stalls that squeezed into Les Muller Park, the Blackbutt Showgrounds and the Blackbutt Common next to the Community Hall, as well as a smaller Psychic Fair operating just across the street.
Inside the Community Hall there was a large photography exhibition, a wall-to-wall display of quilts by the Busy Needles Club, wool spinning and felting demonstration and stalls, and the Blackbutt RSL’s World War I Centenary Display (complete with authentically attired World War I soldiers, courtesy of Helidon’s Emu Gully Field Volunteers who specialise in WWI, WWII and Vietnam re-enactments).
Visitors who fancied a bite could enjoy the delights of the High Street Cafe on the Hall’s verandah, catered by members of the recently reformed Blackbutt-Yarraman QCWA, or patronise any of several main street shops offering full spreads of country cafe and bakery fare.
Street entertainers added a happy and upbeat ambiance to the CBD, while classic cars supplied by the Blackbutt Car Enthusiasts Club lined Hart Street for the delight of motoring aficionados.
On the way to the Showgrounds, visitors could drop by Nukku Nook to see the start of the town’s latest tourist attraction – a Roy Emerson Museum being assembled by the Blackbutt and District Tourism and Heritage Association in honour of the famous tennis player who attended Nukku School.
And at the Showgrounds, visitors could take a free heavy horse cart or train ride, see vintage machinery displays or demonstrations by the Taromeo Rural Fire Brigade and Timbertown Woodworkers, watch avocado cooking displays by chef Jason Ford, inspect and enjoy garden and aviary displays, or enjoy country music from the Taromeo Country Music Club.
Back at Les Muller Park, they could see snake-handling demonstrations by Aussie Dreamtime Reptiles, play with model trains, or – if they were children – get their faces painted. And inside the adjoining Blackbutt Library they could view the Festival’s art competition winners.
Those with a taste that went beyond coffee, tea or soft drinks could also pay a visit to the Butt Art Gallery for Moffatdale Ridge wine tastings, or go across the street to the Radnor Hotel to enjoy the bands playing in the beer garden.
Over the course of the weekend the Festival also offered many “one off” activities for visitors, including a Kids Scavenger Hunt; an outdoor screening of “Walking With Dinosaurs” on Saturday night; trail rides and bird-watching tours along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail; a Cushion Kids Concert by the Brisbane Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, local garden tours, a book signing, and an Art Trail walk.
Volunteers dressed in eye-catching bee costumes provided helpful assistance and directions to newcomers, while shopkeepers proudly displayed decorated storefronts set up especially for the Festival weekend.
South Burnett Deputy Mayor Keith Campbell said the Festival was a wonderful effort and congratulated the Festival committee and local community groups for the hard work they’d put into organising the weekend.
“It’s clear the Blackbutt community have really put their hearts into this, and I think this festival is a tremendous outcome,” he said.
 from Helidon |
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