Hi freda - glad you at least had apple pie from KV. I took home some of the meat pies and assorted versions thereof, and all I can say is, what a shame you're vegetarian. They were to die (live) for. Funny thing was, as I drove out of town I noticed a sign "the best pies in the world" on ANOTHER pie shop. If the ones we had were the SECOND best, I can't wait to try the best ones!

Now back to small town festivals, Spaw I can't wait to hear about what they put in the best convertible for the senior king and queen! Does seem kinda bizarre, and I can't top that with my old home town festival.

In the place where I grew up, Goulburn, which is a fairly large country town, they always had the "Lilac Time" festival in October, which had all the usual trappings - the parade and floats, the crowning of the king and queen, the stalls and the greasy food.

Goulburn is a very old city (Australia's first inland city) so this festival is comparatively young (55 years), but it's still going, only now it's called the Lilac City Festival. In fact, Goulburn seems to be very well endowed with festivals and events of all kinds - blues, jazz, motor racing, and on the long weekend after this one as part of the Lilac festival, there is a new one, advertised as

"The Inaugural Annual Bush Traditions Gathering
The Old Goulburn Brewery, Bungonia Road, Goulburn NSW
a loooong weekend of music, dance, song and spoken word
celebrating an Australian tradition"

Sandra in Sydney is going, and I'm tempted, although I feel a bit festivalled out at the moment. I have a real soft spot for Goulburn - the old brewery is an interesting spot, and the smell of lilacs still takes me back...