Caroline Hammat
After two and half years of delay and disruption Millicent’s Geltwood Festival is back and will be officially launched tonight at 6.30pm at the Millicent gallery by renowned quilter Rachelle Denneny.
The Geltwood Festival committee faced difficult decisions in 2020 and 2021 which led to the cancellation of the annual event with the 2022 festival delayed from its traditional March calendar date.
This year’s packed four day programme is sure to have something for everyone with the traditional quilt and craft displays hung earlier this week throughout the town centre.
Several workshops are being held over the weekend in Millicent including learning the traditional art of patchwork at the Millicent Library and paint and sip events hosted at The George hotel.
The Rendelsham Hall has a Threads and Thimbles exhibition of quilts from the Rendelsham Craft Group’s yearly challenge chosen by a group member.
This year’s challenge is a jelly roll race quilt made from two and a half inch strips of fabric sewn by the short sides then sewn into a quilt from that single long strip.
Rendelsham Craft Group member Kathy Patten said that along with the quilts on display there is a Rachelle Denneny workshop taking place at the hall.
“The workshop is booked out but some people may want to come out to Rendelsham to walk through and see what Rachelle is doing.
“Rachelle has just presented at the Quilt Encounter in Adelaide and just returned from New Zealand before heading here.”
Other events on the calendar are the Imagine Millicent Arts Group (IMAG) cocktail and auction night at Ignition Fitness on Saturday from 7pm.
The return of the popular model train display in the Millicent RSL hall for a gold coin donation both Saturday and Sunday.
The Lions family and market day is sure to be a popular on Sunday and Wattle Range Council Manager Community Development Caroline Hill said.
“The idea is for entertainment right throughout the street because the street will be closed on the day.
“We have Rob’s horse-draw carriage up near the museum during the day going back and forth and the museum have their open day.
“The George are putting on entertainment with Jason and Christy Wallace out the front.
“In the courthouse area there will be a little stage with MJ Dance, Millicent gymnastics, the Millicent choral society and Hype Dance.
“The girl guides will have their giant games and we also have giant games as well.
“We are trying to make the street as lively as possible with the market stalls, activities for the families and catering vans right down the middle and leading onto the reserve and where the model train display is at the RSL hall.
“IMAG also have a mural and sculpture walk leaving from the visitor information centre at 10.20am.”
Geltwood Festival culminates in the Quilting convention on Monday, October 17.
Pat Muhovics, Geltwood Festival committee member said
“It brings people from all over Australia but the numbers are a bit down this year, we are hoping we will get more bookings.
“In the past we’ve had 200 but this time we are only catering for 100, the numbers from away are far less this year.”
Millicent Lions Club member Alan Rolfe said stall holder numbers were also down on previous years’ market days.
“We are virtually starting out again and hope to get a few more bookings.
“People can still book stalls as long as they have their own public liability insurance, the council can provide it but the cut off for that was the end of last week.”
