JULY FESTIVALS IN THE MARY VALLEY

Saturday, 17 July 9am-4pm, with new date and new hours at Kandanga Community Reserve. 2021 theme:- “The 3R's – Responsible River Recreation... leave no trace! This is one of the friendliest family festivals in the Mary Valley. Live music, cats claw (weed vine) weaving workshop, Geckoes Wildlife, environmental talks, community stalls and much more – and a prize for the best River Guardian costume.”

Please note, no gate tickets – it's all direct online bookings. Jump in now. At time of print still tickets available. Entry for a family day out ($25), and adults $10. Visit the Facebook page for latest, or www.maryriverfestival.org.au – Tickets must be purchased online with limited numbers available due to the festival's COVID-safe plan. https://events.humanitix.com/mary-river-festival-sr3y9j7w

The meandering Mary River and the old valley railway were the inspiration for Geoffrey Webber when he decided to participate in an innovative exhibition at the 20th Mary Valley Art Festival being celebrated on July 22-25, 2021. Mary Valley Alive celebrates this milestone of the 'arts', telling the story of the valley through its flora, fauna and people.

20 guest artists will interpret the theme by painting plinths to be displayed with artworks from the original Mary Valley Alive exhibit, which is comprised of art from the Traveston Crossing Dam era.

Architect turned artist Geoffrey W., said his theme for the plinth was a personal one. “I retired here with my artist girlfriend and wife, Narelle some 15 years ago, simply because we both loved the peace and quiet of country regions. I was keen to chase more trains and Narelle wanted to continue painting.” Geoffrey pictured top right. They soon became actively involved in the ‘damn’ Traveston Crossing campaign, and learned to appreciate the wonderful attributes that the river offered. “And just like the railway threaded its way through the valley and connected with townships, so did the river too,” Geoffrey said. “I treated the four sides of the plinth and the top, quite a large surface – about a metre square - as a three-dimensional work of art, highlighting some of our activities and interests.”

Using acrylic paints, he painted the images so they wrapped around the four sides of the plinth over a period of three weeks. “It’s been an exciting project, on top of my recent return to life drawing with Pat Cale in Imbil. Life revolves around my volunteering with the Valley Rattler, reconnecting with my art interests, our artist friends, kayaking on the waterways, appreciating nature and the beauty of our Mary Valley. It’s now 10 years since the 2010 Mary Valley Art Festival depicted that wonderful mural of our artistic impressions called Mary Valley Alive, curated so cleverly by Heinke Butt. We celebrate again the successful ‘Save the Mary River’ campaign with the new exhibition of plinths and those original works.”

Festival and exhibition viewing starts on July 22 at the Imbil Public Hall, Edward Street, Imbil with the opening night and award presentations on Friday July 23, and closing celebrations on Sunday afternoon July 25. There's over $8000 in prizes including the Bendigo Bank Open Award $2500, nine categories for adults, and a Youth Award for 12-17-year-olds. One of the judges for the festival, Jandamarra Cadd, has been a finalist in every major portrait art prize in Australia and it is an honour to have his expertise.