General News
30 November, 2024
Kannamaroo again a success
Well, it’s a wrap for our 44th Annual Festival.
Saturday night the festival suffered as a result of the challenging weather we seem to face each and every year.
The rain affected the carnival and the fireworks were cancelled on Friday when our permit was cancelled due to the total fire ban.
The family music event in Maydale Pavilion went ahead, and those who came out enjoyed the night which started with games for the kids, followed by a fantastic display of Filipino dancing and great music and singing with “The Filos” band.
It was such a pleasure to have the Wimmera Filipino-Australian Club involved with Kannamaroo and we thank them for their involvement and support together with all the fun and laughter they bring to our festival.
We would love to expand cultural involvement in the festival.
Sunday started with early morning showers but settled to a calm but humid day, with a large variety of activities for the many families who attended the event.
The new sensory space in the poultry shed resulted in an area that was quite and activities to stimulate all senses of children visiting.
Maydale Pavilion included a variety of market stalls, Dancer Zone displays, Tiny Goats, and Christmas spirit added by Silver Strings, while those feeling active were able to try the great new pickleball game.
Stable One and the grassed areas had water play, face painting, fun with paint and colour provided by Young Expressions, while paint a car was very popular.
Waldo the Magician kept many intrigued with his magic and mini golf was enjoyed by many.
A number of children showed interest in soccer come and try, and the Circus Workshop was a hit in the cattle yard.
Local guides also supported the festival with had demonstrations hourly, along with activities and a bake sale, and have some new children interested in joining.
Our local Scouts kept the barbecue cooking, and the Rovers displayed their rally car – many had no idea that through the Scouts you could go on to Rovers and go rally car driving.
Our local SES team demonstrated how they cut a vehicle to perform rescues, and we thank them for their time both on Sunday and year-round while supporting our community.
Our Horsham City Brass Band provided a variety of great music as usual and jingled Santa’s arrival, while the Development Band also provided an hour of entertainment and demonstrated what a service the HCBB provide with lessons and equipment for those interested in becoming a part of our HCBB.
The Horsham Motor Sports Club provided a display of speedway vehicles, and the Wimmera Mallee Historical Vehicle Society had many intrigued with the older variety of cars on display.
Adam Reardon Carnival rides and amusements has been coming to Kannamaroo over 40 years now, and each year they provide a very clean, pleasant and safe carnival.
Adam and Melissa asked that I pass on a special message to our community and that is they would like to compliment our community on our wonderful behaviour, manners and how pleasant we are and what wonderful children we are raising.
They said it is such a pleasure to come here, and we, the committee, also find their team are part of the Kannamaroo family that has been developed over the years.
We sincerely thank to all our sponsors because without them, we could not provide a festival for free.
Finally, to our very small committee who work so hard to keep Kannamaroo annual festival going, Emma Smith, David McDonald, Sue Papst, Alma McKenzie, Graham and Zoey Manwarring, you are tireless workers and without you and special people like Amy Brooksby who came on board for the last three weeks to provide amazing help when two of us were physically challenged, the festival wouldn’t happen.
Thanks also to the Andrea Cross, Horsham Ag Society, Horsham Showground Management Committee and the guys from Horsham Motor Sports Club who jumped in to help with some muscle power when needed.
A big thanks also to the CFA for helping with the arrival of Santa.
Di Bell – Chair Kannamaroo Festival.
