Event organiser Chris Watson said tickets were selling very well and he hoped it would once again be a sellout, as was the case last year.

“We release 800 tickets and if they all sell, there’s another 200 we can make available,” Chris said yesterday.

“All the bands are really excited to be coming back to Tamworth. For the Mentals, it’s been quite a while since they performed here, and I know Adam Eckersley is pretty chuffed to be playing back in Tamworth again.

“Another bonus on the day will be the emcee, Darren Coggan, who’s promised to do a couple of his famous Cat Stevens numbers for the audience.”

If you’ve been hiding under a rock and haven’t heard who’s going to be playing there – I’ll let the cat out.

Apart from Mental As Anything and the Adam Eckersley Band, there’s Blu, Streamline and The Jimmy Craz Band.

Rebs and Crystal from 92.9 will be there to share hosting duties with Darren Coggan.

Sponsored by New England Mutual Tamworth, Party in the Paddock is a major fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Tamworth and has the potential to realise $20,000-$25,000 if it sells out, as expected. 

“We’re really excited to be the major sponsor,” New England Mutual Tamworth branch manager Andrew Tickle said.

“It’s a great day out for families and a great way to give back to a cause that we are very passionate about.

“We hope to see the community come out in force and join us at Party in the Paddock.”

More than 9000 individuals have stayed at Ronald McDonald House Tamworth in the past six years.

It’s a home away from home for sick children and their families, staffed by caring people and a wonderful team of volunteers.  

The big day out is Saturday, November 15 at Kitty Crawford Estate, 1095 Nundle Rd, Dungowan.

Gates open at 2.45pm and the music begins at 3.30pm.

The party starts when you get there. You can either drive out or grab a bus to and from the venue. Just ask when you purchase your tickets.

They’re available online at www.entertainmentvenues.com.

au or at the Capitol Theatre, Tamworth Regional Council at 437 Peel St, or from the new Tamworth Visitor Information Centre at the Big Golden Guitar.

You can also book your ticket over the phone on 6767 5300.

WITH all the excitement of Party in the Paddock, I have to let you know some rather sad news about a festival that’s close to home.

Paul and Hele McCloud’s popular Hartwood Campfires and Country Music Festival has come to an end after 27 fabulous years.

Paul and Hele, with help from a large group of volunteers, have run the festival each Easter since 1988, but say the time has come to pass things on to the next generation. 

“Although the festival has been a local success story, we want to do different things in our retirement and the property is now being listed for sale,” Paul said.

“The local Warrumbungle Council has imposed more stringent conditions on the future operation of the festival but I’m continuing negotiations with them in the hope of getting approval for the new development application, so an incoming buyer could still either continue to run the festival or lease it out to another operator to run from 2016 and into the future.”

Paul said he’s had some interested parties indicate they would be happy to lease the site and keep the festival going, which would continue to be of great benefit to local businesses and the surrounding villages in the district. 

“The people who have supported the festival over the years have been mainly the grey nomads,” Paul said. 

“They have been such a pleasure to entertain and have always taken great pride in making sure there was no rubbish left around the campsites before going home after the event each year.”

Hartwood, near Tambar Springs, was the family property where Paul grew up.

His father purchased Hartwood in 1946, and young Paul attended Coolah Central School, leaving at the age of 13 to help his folks on the farm. 

He released his first album in August 1982 and since then has recorded a further 16 albums.  

Paul and Hele toured Australia extensively from 1980 until 2008, as well as running the Hartwood festival each year.  Paul’s father ran a very successful stud piggery on Hartwood during the 1970s and ’80s and was instrumental in getting the festival started.

Paul and Hele’s mate, Trevor “Chalky” Chalk from the Sunshine Coast has shot heaps of video footage at Hartwood 2013.

After innumerable hours in the edit suite, he’s come up with a double DVD, so chances are, if you were in the audience, you could be a film star! The video is available direct from the website, www.paulmccloud.com for $30, including postage.

Country Music Notes wishes Paul and Hele all the very best in their well-deserved retirement.

GATES opened yesterday ahead of the second annual Clarence Valley Country Muster at Wendy Gordon’s Calliope property, north-east of Grafton, this weekend. 

The second Clarence Valley Country Muster, which officially starts tomorrow, will also be the stage for the release of a new album by Grafton-based band Suburban Country and feature poets’ breakfasts over the three main days from 7.30am to 9.30am.

Wendy said it was wonderful to see the caravans, campers and motorhomes start rolling onto the property after so many months of preparing the site.

“We can fit 550 caravans on the site, and it would be lovely to see the place full this year,” Wendy said.

“Apart from the music, the muster will serve up meat and vegetables grown in a district regarded as a leader in agricultural produce for well over a century.”

Walk-up artists will be in the running to win a $2000 recording package from Kross Kut Records.

Proceeds from raffles over the muster will go to Camp Quality – an organisation looking after the needs of children with life-threatening illnesses.

Prizes include three days of relaxation at the nearby Pillar Rock farm-stay centre, a $500 shopping voucher from Coles and much more.

Wendy said the phones in the muster office had been running hot for the past few months, with inquiries coming from all over Australia.

“We’ve timed the muster to be held the same week as Grafton's famed Jacaranda Festival, which gives people even more to see and do in this beautiful part of the world,” Wendy said.

For the full program, visit the website, www.cvcmuster.com.au