THE AUTUMN Festival has well and truly kicked off, with crowds enjoying the night markets on Friday followed by some fantastic entertainment.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As the sun rose on Saturday, bleary-eyed community members made their way down to Civic Park for breakfast with the Armidale City Band.
Later on in Civic Park, runners sprinted over the finish line in the Campus to City Canter.
First place went to Steve Chung with a time of 16 minutes and 47 seconds.
Did you miss the Grand Parade? We’ve got you covered! Check out our live stream of the event below.
The festivities continued in Civic Park, with performances by the Armidale Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Dance Enterprise, and the Celtic Circle Dance Troupe.
Mayor Simon Murray presented the awards to the winners of the best overall floats. Newling Public School duxxed the schools category. The Fairy Lady and her dancing sprites at The End of the Rainbow Fairy Shop used their magic to win the business category. Scouts Armidale were well prepared to take the community award, and the town’s own Armidale Pipe Band marched off with the pipe band section.
The best general float, winning $1,000, was the New England Conservatorium of Music, which entered the parade for the first time . Their giant piano obviously played the right tune!
Congratulations to all the winners, and well done to everyone who took part in the parade!
It may have been St Patrick’s Day, celebrated by all good Irish everywhere, but their Scottish cousins gave a fine display of bagpipe playing and folk dancing: kilts, skirls, skirts, and reels.
The fun continued with tales from Dublin, music, and fireworks at 9pm.
Taken a fantastic picture? Use the #AutumnFestival and tag @armidale.express on Instagram, so we can see the festival through your eyes.
Keep an eye on this page; we’ll update it with photos and videos of all the action throughout the day.
For a comprehensive guide to the festival, including activity times and feature stories, click here.