FROM horse racing to mass choirs and colour runs, the Murtoa’s Big Weekend had it all.
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The three-day event kicked off on Friday and featured a range of family-fun activities.
Murtoa’s Big Weekend chairman David Grigg said overall it was a very successful weekend.
“Crowds were up everywhere across the event,” he said.
Friday’s activities included the annual Murtoa Show and a family fun and film night.
Mr Grigg said more than 400 people attended the family night.
“We had a fireworks display and everyone was in awe,” he said.
“A lot of people said it was the best fireworks display they had seen outside Melbourne or Sydney.”
Mr Grigg said numbers were slightly down at the Murtoa Show, mostly because this year’s event was not a public holiday.
“For the past two years, we’ve had a public holiday for the show, but this year we didn’t,” he said.
“But it was still a good day and everyone had a great time.”
Saturday featured singing in the town’s stick shed, along with the annual Murtoa Cup, a monster street market and the Murtoa Show and Shine.
“The singing in the stick shed was awesome,” Mr Grigg said.
“Everyone who attended said it was a first-class event.”
The event featured more than 200 people singing in a mass choir.
The group sang a song about the shed that was composed specially for the event.
Mr Grigg said the choir learnt the song in the morning and performed it in the afternoon.
“It was an extremely well attended event and we were happy that people turned up to sing and watch,” he said.
“There was so many cars that we had to cut a fence to open up another paddock.”
The big weekend finished on Sunday with an ecumenical service about the international year of sustainable tourism.
“The service addressed the benefits of attractions on the economy, which was very relevant to us with the stick shed and the Silo Art Trail,” Mr Grigg said.
A colour run at Lake Marma attracted families and children on Sunday.
“Lots of kids and young people went along and had a great time,” Mr Grigg said.
He said across the weekend, many people also attended the Water Tower Museum and the Dunmunkle Sumpoilers rally.
Mr Grigg said the big weekend had grown in the past three to four years.
“We have more attractions now and we get a lot of visitors along with people who used to live in Murtoa,” he said.
“Overall, the organisers were very happy with the event.”