The sun shone on more than 10,000 visitors to this year's Living Smart Festival in Lake Macquarie on Saturday, as three major headliners took centre stage.
Winner of Australia's Alone TV show Gina Chick, River Cottage Australia host Paul West and previous MasterChef Australia contestant turned food influencer Steph De Sousa took turns spilling their secrets on sustainable living and cooking as part of the festival's 13th instalment.
Chick, who spent 67 days solo in the Tasmanian wilderness to take out the inaugural season of Alone Australia in 2023, took to the main stage, delving into her experiences and describing how connecting with nature had strengthened and enriched her soul.
West shared insights on how home food growers can make the world a better place, one veggie patch at a time.
De Sousa, who has amassed more than one million social media followers thanks to her quick and simple recipe clips, featured at the Eat Zone and ran a 'dinner from the bottom of the fridge' cooking demonstration, featuring veggie crisper fritters with raita and a how-to guide on 'quickles', or quick pickles.
This year's festival also featured a First Nations zone with traditional art and craft workshops, and an extensive 'World Zone', with stalls from countries and cultures across the globe, including Tibet, Mexico, Italy, Colombia, Syria and Kenya.
Lake Macquarie City Council Coordinator Sustainability Engagement Chris Harle said the festival united people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate culture, community and sustainable living.
"The energy from start to finish was incredible," Ms Harle said.
"We had a real focus this year on creating an inclusive event that would appeal to everyone, from those who are already well entrenched in sustainable living to those who are just starting out on that journey."
Street artist Goya Torres, who hails from Mexico but now calls Lake Mac home, spent the day painting a vibrant mural, which visitors added to with their own thoughts and feelings about culture and sustainability.
Torres said she was "blown away" by the crowd who engaged with her mural.
"The excitement of the children and the community to leave a mark in the mural I was painting was incredible," she said.
"We all did it together and beautiful, inclusive messages were added to the artwork. The World Zone and the different cultures' music performances were amazing to watch and listen to as I was painting."
"I'm very proud of being part of Lake Macquarie and looking forward to bringing art to my local community."
West returned to close out the event by judging the ever-popular school garden bed competition, where school groups created vibrant temporary raised gardens that reflected the festival's themes and values.
Floraville Public School took out the top gong, alongside GEM Academy at Hunter Sports High, which won the People's Choice Award.
Public School Living Smart Festival was sponsored by the NSW Government's Multicultural NSW, Hunter Resource Recovery, Hunter Water, Allambi Care, the University of Newcastle, Newcastle Weekly and Greater Bank.
