LAST Saturday almost 1,000 locals and visitors basked in the sun on a beautiful Nambucca Valley day at the Macksville Showgrounds and played their part in reliving one of the most defining cultural events in modern history – ‘Woodstock’.

For just $10.00 entry fee attendees were treated to a twelve hour succession of some of the best local and national bands and musicians, paying homage to the music and style that signaled a change in the way young people influence the world around them.

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Hundreds of people took up the opportunity to camp at the Showgrounds on Friday and Saturday nights and enjoy a festival atmosphere that included a dazzling range of market stalls and food vendors, belly dancers and continuous music across two stages.

The inaugural Woodstock in the Valley was held three years ago at the Macksville Showgrounds to mark the 50th Anniversary of the original event and attempts by organisers Dianne Potter and Vicki Starr to make it happen each year have fallen prey to the pandemic and bad weather.

Dianne Potter told News Of The Area, “A big thank you has to go out to the team who made this happen.

“We have had so many people ask us when the next Woodstock in the Valley is going to be on so it looks like everyone had a fabulous time and wants to do it again.”

Musical director Peter Lemke pulled together and coordinated a stellar roster of talent that resulted in hundreds channeling their inner hippie and dancing for hours on end.

Performing for the appreciative crowd was a line-up that included Loose Cannons, Creedence and Friends, Not Real Young, Leroy and the Rats, Raven, Casey Alexander, Lighthouse Duo, Critical Mass, Georgia Cortez Rayner, Lucy’s Sky, and Pash.

Performances culminated in an appearance by Steve Edmonds Band performing a Jimi Hendrix Show featuring guitar work that had the audience awe struck.

News Of The Area spoke with a large number of attendees who were unanimous that Woodstock in the Valley should feature as an annual event on the district’s social calendar.

The festival was a community focused Not-for-Profit event intended to develop and nurture the local entertainment industry and promote Nambucca Valley tourism and retail.

This year’s event was supported by the Australian and NSW Governments and was a Bushfire Community Recovery and Resilience Fund project through the joint Commonwealth/State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

The Nambucca Valley Council, Healthy North Coast and the Nambucca Valley Rotary Club were also behind this special event.

Dianne Potter, Vicki Starr and Peter Lemke, with the support of family, friends and volunteers, delivered a spectacular and unique festival on the weekend however this was the product of many months of sustained hard work.

When the dust settles from this year’s Woodstock in the Valley the team will consider if they have the energy to do it all again next year.

The photographs featured in this story were supplied by Caleb Casey and Mick Birtles.

By Mick BIRTLES