Plenty in store for Gympie's upcoming birthday
October 5 - 21: G150 Rush Festival
THIS year is set to be a massive party for Gympie as it celebrates its 150th birthday.
Because of this, the 17-day Rush Festival will have additional significance and even more events are planned.
The Widgee Bush Balladeers Long Weekend starts the massive celebrations with three days of bush poetry, country music, camping out and campdrafting.
The Heart of Gold Film Festival is also part of the Rush Festival, coinciding with the event at Widgee.
The Rush Art Competition Exhibition will run at the Gympie Regional Art Gallery in Nash St from Wednesday, October 11, through to Saturday, October 28, and is always a big deal for the artistic community in Gympie.
A gala opening night is on the Wednesday night, with the judges discussion on the entries the following evening.
Check out the many public programs on while the competition is on view, including an Oil Painting Workshop with renowned Melbourne based artist Ross Paterson on Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22, and Sketch Crawl on Sunday, October 28.
The Gympie Civic Centre will play host to a Legend and the Locals concert on Friday, October 13 with headline act Sarah Storer following local musicians Will Hearn and Alice Benfer.
But perhaps the most iconic part of the festival is the G150 Gold Rush Festival and street parade on Saturday, October 14.
Nelson Reserve will be packed to the gills with vintage cars and bikes as entrants in the Autobarn Car and Bike Show put their pride and joys on display.
There will also be food stalls, kids rides and entertainment on the main stage including a laser light show.
The parade will wind down the length of Mary St from 3pm, and last year more than 1000 floats participated; put together by community groups, schools and organisations.
This year, after the Gold Rush Festival, the G150 concert will be on the main stage from 8pm when headline act Jimmy Barnes will rock the park along with The Black Sorrows and Reece Mastin.
For a full run-down on all the activities for G150 head to rushfestival.com.au.
