Anyone who wanders into Narrandera Showground on January 28 and 29 next year will be forgiven for thinking they have stumbled into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

A Weekend With Max Festival, based on the popular Mad Max genre movies will take place over two days.

As well as vehicles made popular in those movies, another star attraction will be the appearance of Roger Ward, who played Mad Max’s commander Fifi.

The event’s organiser Scott Oram said the festival was a fundraising initiative as part of his Adventure All Stars Charity TV Global team, which is a television travel show which raises funds to support various charities.

Money raised will go to Australian Horizons Foundation (AHF), an organisation which raises funds to distribute to rural organisations, charities, associations and communities, to support delivery of a range of services and mainly rural socio economic and mental health support to rural families, communities and small towns.

Mr Oram said AHF had also provided the platform of a sponsorship package to allow businesses to be part of the event.

He said the two-day festival would offer something for every Mad Max fan, including displays, performances, competitions, Lighthorse Association displays, band performances, as well as numerous outdoor activities.

“It should be a pretty good show; it started as an idea to have a Show N Shine and very quickly expanded into a Mad Max Festival,” Mr Oram said.

“It’s inspired by the whole Mad Max genre and I think this is a very exciting opportunity for our town.

“We’ll have the two-door cars Max drove in the movie and some replica vehicles from the second movie.

“It’s a chance for the crowd not just to be spectators, but also to participate.”

Mr Oram said the festival would also feature monster trucks, food stalls, competitions for the best dressed Max, best dressed post-apocalyptic character and other costume and vehicle competitions.

“There will be Cosplay, which is dressing up as Max or one of the characters from the Mad Max movies,” he said.

“The dress-up will be a post-apocalyptic theme.

“It gives people the chance to get into the spirit of the whole festival by dressing up as one of their favourite characters or just in costume with a post-apocalyptic theme.”

Mr Oram is hoping the festival becomes an annual event.

“There’s a couple other actors who might be coming too but haven’t been confirmed yet,” he said.

Mr Oram said efforts were ongoing to secure the appearance of the man himself, Mel Gibson, who played the legendary cult hero Mad Max, but it had not been confirmed.

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 22 December 2022.