The streets of Ganmain came alive for the weekend for the second ever Ganmain Arts Festival.

The festival featured art in different forms such as sculpting, painting, photography and even an ecofabric creator.

According to Myfanwy Collette, one of the women behind the Arts Festival, it was a great weekend that would not have been possible without the support of the community.

“Im feeling really quite elated it was as, if not more, successful than our first venture,” Mrs Collette said.

“We’ve discovered lots of artists in the area and one even turned up on the last day saying could he display some of his art and we didn’t even know they existed, so they’re coming out of the woodwork.

“This is only possible, all of this, because of the dedication of the community of Ganmain. It is a community where if something happens, its amazing how they get together and no-one says no… we can’t do this type of thing without that community behind us.”

Businesses along the main street happily displayed art in their windows which allowed the crowd to wander back and forth to take a look.

Ganmain and Matong schools also participated by creating multi-colored lollipops which made for a huge display in the park.

Catering for the weekend was also done by the Fisher and Farmer gift store and the Ganmain Pub’s Social Club who supplied visitors with coffee and soup to enjoy in the sunny weather.

The Wagga Wagga Rugby Mens Choir was also a crowd favourite after their performance in the main hall on Saturday afternoon surrounded by all the art.

The festival also included a display in the Ganmain Hotel of historical pieces that were created by women who created the first art school in the town.

“They seem to be the origin of art in Ganmain… we always say Ganmain is farming and football but there is art here too,” Mrs Collette said.

“A group of ladies basically farmers’ wives got together and started painting and formed an arts school which still exists today.”

The display included 20 pieces of art as well as photographs of the artists which were all loaned by the families of the women.

Overall, the success of the weekend speaks for itself, with crowds hailing from all over including Wagga Wagga, Griffith and even as far as Sydney.

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 29 June 2023.