When the Gazette rang one of the co-ordinators of the weekend’s Winterfest on Monday evening – he was still there at the showground, as they always leave their venues pristine, he said.
“It was our 11th year and it was our biggest Winterfest ever!” Andrew Beattie said triumphantly, no doubt waving a shiny armoured fist in the air.
“We usually get a bit over 7000 through the gates – this year [the first at Hawkesbury] it was around 10,000! I’m still gobsmacked how lovely the weekend was.”
Andrew supplies horses for the jousting, and competes in it too. He said other highlights were medieval cooking displays, medieval medicine and surgery (“it grossed the adults out but the kids loved it!”), and historically accurate full sword combat.
But how safe is that? “There were a few shaken noggins but we train for safety as well as accuracy,” he said.
Archers also gave punters lessons in shooting from a bow. Archery battles were undertaken too, using Nerf arrows.
Falconers gave demonstrations of falconry with eagles, owls and hawks, and artisans demonstrated blacksmithing, leatherworking and woodturning using a medieval-style pedal lathe.
Over at the unicorns’ paddock was one of Andrew’s ponies which he found to his dismay had her hooves painted purple and her body covered in glitter.
If you missed Winterfest this year there’ll be plenty more chances – it’s booked for at least the next three years at the showground.
