The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the flowers are blooming. Spring is here, and that only means one thing – St Marys Spring Festival is right around the corner.
This year, as the event heads toward a very special milestone, St Marys Town Centre Manager Jo Tomic said that she’s reflecting on its significant history in the area.
“1975 was the very first Spring Festival, brought about to save a building, which was the Arts Community Centre. Just two locals who went, ‘We’ll raise some money, and we’ll be able to save it’,” she said.
“They started off with the parade, and I think they would have had some stalls and activities and things like that, but over the years, it’s just grown and grown and grown.”
Despite admitting that the event has had its hiccups over the years due to the COVID pandemic and cancellations due to weather, Tomic said she’s determined to make 2024’s event one of the best yet.
“This year is the 49th year, so it’s very, very special,” she said.
“We need to make this one awesome, because next year needs to be incredible.”
Tomic said that some of the major highlights of the event, being held on Saturday, September 7, will be the parade and two stages featuring local community groups and organisations.
“I think the performances and the two emcees on the stage will actually really make those two stages,” she said.
“We’ll start with the St Marys Club Pipes and Drums, the Scout group is always in it, Dogs in the Park is new, Centre Stage Dance has been in it before, the Model A Ford Club – because everyone loves all the old cars – Supreme Dance, then the St Clair JRLC, BAM, the Salvation Army is looking to have someone perform on the stage closest to their office, and then the Museum of Fire Vintage Trucks, which everyone always loves.”
There will also be over 200 stalls on the day, from food to retail and activities.
“We’ll have some retailers that will have taken a stall out the front, but we’ve also engaged with Eat Shop Love, who do markets all the time,” she said.
“We’ll only have a certain amount of everything so we won’t double up. Our cultural diversity is huge, and we want to be able to pull all of that together for the people who will be coming to the event.”
Up to 25,000 people are expected to attend.
“We’ll hopefully see a lot of locals, but also people from a lot of different areas, because there’s not many of these left where it’s a whole street,” she said.
The Spring Festival runs from 10am-3pm on Queen Street this Saturday.
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.