The best of Upper Beaconsfield was on display this past weekend with a festival of art, sport and entertainment.
The Upper Beaconsfield Festival is held each year to coincide with the anniversary week of the Ash Wednesday bushfires to mark the continued strength of the community. This year it was held on that very day 42 years after the bushfires.
Several thousand people enjoyed the Upper Beaconsfield Community Centre and its assortment of activities on Sunday 16 February.
Kids got to meet the local fire brigade and even some dinosaurs, they jumped on fun rides and had their faces colourfully painted.
The festival is a gathering of local organisations from the tennis club, pony club, Men’s Shed, CFA, SES to the local kinder and primary school.
The festival also hosts the annual Tower Run, a competition that goes up to a half-marathon starting on McBride Street and winding through the many tracts of Upper Beaconsfield.
An Art and Photography Exhibition is held awarding the best of local painters and photographers.
Both the Tower Run and the exhibition had record entries this year.
There was a variety of entertainment such as a fashion parade at St John’s Church and Irish dancing.
No one can miss the dog competition that awards the best dressed to the ones most like their owner.
These highlights are just a few of the many activities enjoyed on the day.
The festival also prides itself on being sustainable with efforts to minimise all waste. Plastics are kept out of use at the event and at the end of the day the rubbish is sorted by volunteers to be recycled, composted or deposited.
Thanks went to the 1st Upper Beaconsfield Scout Group for cleaning dishes at the end of the day.
The festival is a community-run event organised by volunteers and supported by local sponsors.
