General News
14 November, 2023
Big hit! Alive crowns super month
A MONTH of celebrations in Loddon communities has been crowned with a spectacular finale when more than 3000 thronged the streets of Inglewood on Sunday. Crowds were in position along Brooke Street well before the official 10am start time for...
A MONTH of celebrations in Loddon communities has been crowned with a spectacular finale when more than 3000 thronged the streets of Inglewood on Sunday.
Crowds were in position along Brooke Street well before the official 10am start time for Inglewood Alive.
The one-day street festival was back after four years and brought visitors from across the Loddon Shire and other parts of country Victoria.
The festival came after a huge month that saw a massive crowd at the 135th Boort Show, the Whole Loddon Love flood recovery music tour and the first-ever Loddon Valley Arts Trail headlining events in local communities.
Inglewood Alive had fun and sun shining on the festival’s first presentation by the town’s development and tourism committee.
Secretary Pauline Wellman said there was a sense of “fantastic excitement that we pulled it off”.
“There was so much preparation behind the scenes ... the people came,” she said.
Family groups meandered through displays of cars, local award-winning produce, crafts and creations and activities. St Mary’s Primary School cooked up more than 30kg of potatoes - they were sold out by midday.
Luke Sofi travelled from Shepparton with his bubble gun stall, refilling his morning sales as customers returned well into the afternoon.
“The bubbles are adding a lot of atmosphere to the day,” he said.
When youngsters weren’t dodging bubbles, they were running the gauntlet in the amusement arcade, trying to stay firm on inflated rubber cushions as friends swung balls from the side in attempts to have them fall.
Queues were constant at food vans where the local Flavours of Loddon vendors made their debut and shops along Brooke Street.
“It was hard to get a cup of coffee at the cafes ... they were serving non-stop all day,” Pauline said.
“And the antique and craft stalls had people streaming in and out all day, too.”
Organisers have immediately started planning for Inglewood Alive 2024, meeting on Monday night for an early debrief.
“We’re all looking back though on the amazing month of activities not only in Inglewood but right across the shire and the support events have received from Loddon Shire - a real investment in attracting people to our towns and hopefully, encouraging them to come back again,” Pauline said. “We’ve got Inglewood Alive vendors already booking in again for next year.”
The Melbourne Cup long weekend also brought people into other local towns. Caravan parks at Bridgewater, Boort and Wedderburn were at capacity with the Bridgewater park alone booking in 110 vans last Friday.