Governor Phillip Park, Windsor was abuzz on Sunday, 6 August when thousands of Hawkesbury residents came out to enjoy Hawkesbury Fest.
Held as part of Local Government Week, the community event has not run for three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and floods, so it was an even bigger celebration, featuring free rides, live entertainment and the first ever Sustainability Stroll.
The Mayor of Hawkesbury, Councillor Sarah McMahon received plenty of positive feedback about the free community event.
"We had more than 8,000 people turn out on Sunday and it was great to see everyone having such a great time," Mayor McMahon said.
"Thank you to our Hawkesbury Fest sponsors and everyone involved! What a way to end Local Government week in the Hawkesbury Local Government Area."
Kids loved the free facepainting and the Messy Makers tent which were busy all day long. The bike N blend activity with Council's Road Safety team as well as the free 'check-and-tune your bike' service by Revolve Recycling were hugely popular.
Hundreds visited the Council teams as part of the Sustainability Stroll, including the Hawkesbury Bushcare and Hawkesbury Community Nursery crew, who gave out free plants and plant vouchers on the day. The Sustainability team held a Sustainable Stories activity and Envirocom taught people about recycling.
At the Arts and Culture section, people decorated tree guards, dug for fossils, made stars and comets and won prizes at the 'Spin the Wheel' activity. Hawkesbury Companion Animal Shelter staff provided advice to local pet owners, with a Shelter dog finding a new family that day.
A major highlight were the dog agility demonstrations by RuffTRACK and Farmer Dave, sponsored by Bush's Proteins – a division of AJ Bush and Sons. Thanks also to event sponsors Kombi Keg Northwest; Cafe Cornerstone, Total Hearing Windsor, Lily Home Collective and Bendigo Bank North Richmond and Bendigo Bank Richmond.
The event included free amusement rides, local markets stalls, food trucks/stalls, community group information stalls including a local Emergency Services display. There were also fun fitness challenges with the YMCA, live music by local artists and roving entertainment.
The community event is hosted during local Government Week each year by Hawkesbury City Council to connect the Hawkesbury community and celebrate what Council does in our community.
If you were there, please take the time to fill out a short survey about the event www.surveymonkey.com/r/HFest2023 so we can keep on building on our events for the Hawkesbury community.
