Jenny Pollard, The Buloke Times

After four days of full-on activity, Charlton has surely earned a place in the spotlight for community endeavour as both a host and in partnership with the burgeoning OK Motels Contemporary Music and Arts Small Town Festival, which played out last weekend.

From Friday through to Sunday a combination of the local and the imported brought vibrancy and excitement to the town, aided by the presence of the ABC TV “Back Roads” crew who joined the party to capture “small town” life and the Festival’s impact.

From the stunning light and laser Welcome to Country at the Charlton Motel on Friday night, to the posters peppered around town featuring twenty of Australia’s top rural social commentary photographers; with the fun and innovative  activities like “Marry Your Friends – A Celebration of Holy Mate-rimony”, to learning the art of playing lawn bowls and generally slotting into the community like a long-lost friend, OK ’24 has seen the event build exponentially on what began as a night of bands at a retro motel.

Involvement

Community involvement has flourished thanks to outreach to locals in the active planning of the event. A brain-storming session held last November encouraged fresh input. Activities were re-arranged to coincide with the February programming, maximizing not just the weekend schedule, but an increase in economic potential. Youth have also taken active roles with the Charlton Youth Group, Charlton College Year 10 students and CWA Juniors all contributing and gaining experience as ambassadors for the town. 

And like a master weaver, OK Motels instigator, Kate Berry, has worked hard to draw so many separate groups into the same orbit for the benefit of all. By building relationships, gaining local insight and using her own extensive networks, Kate has seen the evolution of OK Charlton, and its ­absolute acceptance by the town, become a major event which not only brings in people from across Australia, but which also introduces the elite of indie bands to a small country community. Plus, a lot of visitors spread the word and make return visits outside of the Festival weekend.

Breakfast

Charlton Lions (assisted by members of the Tennis Club) were centrally placed at the Traveller’s Rest on Saturday morning with the breakfast barbeque of veggie burgers and egg and bacon ready as the revelers surfaced from the TR caravan park and glamping tents. A quick walk over to the town’s newest asset – the sleek “Caffeinated Chaos” coffee van run by Tia Fanning – saw a long and consistent queue ready and eager for the sought-after metro fare. Located at the rear of the Charlton Club, the outdoor surrounds, tables and proximity to the river made for a perfect morning setting for a relaxed breakfast and a rehash of the opening night bands.

Retail therapy beckoned with the Uniting Church UpMarket and Charlton Vintage retro shop drawing the crowds, while a drop-in at The Rex for a morning movie was also an option. A busy main street, a passing greeting from Charlton Neighbourhood House representative, Deb Whykes, a chat with the visitors, and a relaxed mood, set the pace for the day.

Bowls

A highly favoured activity is the CWA Devo Tea and bare-foot bowls at the Charlton Bowling Club, both of which were heavily patronized by the predominantly young cohort of visitors. There was glowing praise for the scones and jam and cream, and a surprising eagerness to get stuck into a game of bowls, with local bowler, Ellie Rosewall the undoubted star and tutor on the day. 

The conversations all eddied around how friendly everyone was, how much fun people were having and how well planned the weekend was. CWA Juniors Cody and Lacey Jenkyn and Anna Fitzpatrick assisted Cabbaritta Branch members with hospitality duties, and initiating conversations with the patrons. In a marathon effort, CWA began their scone-making at 7 a.m. that day – producing just under 500 scones!

At the pool

As midday ticked over the action moved to the swimming pool where a very large crowd made the most of the balmy summer conditions, as DJ and Matto spun the music requests. Themed the “Tell Your Friends You Love Them” Pool Party, the highlight of the afternoon was the synchronized swimming performance by “The Clams”, “Melbourne’s least professional, most clam-tastic Water Ballet Squad”. A free event, thanks to sponsorship from OK Motels, Charlton Neighbourhood House, Buloke Shire, Charlton Arts, Bendigo Bank and the Charlton Forum Inc. the 20 member squad drew rousing cheers and loud applause from the huge crowd which filled the banks and concourse around the pool area. The aquatic action continued on into the afternoon, with the Charlton Youth Group supplying gelatos and sorbets to the growing crowd.

Music and art

Music and art opportunities flowed on with band “Hound Dog and the House Rockers” at the Cricket Club pub, performer, Mark Squire at the Vale of Avoca and the Court House Gallery featuring the paintings of local artist, Chris Wyatt’s evocative “Stolen” exhibition.

Marry your friends

If there hadn’t already been enough on the go the penultimate event was about to unfurl over dinner at the Charlton Hall where all was in place for the “Marry Your Friends” session where couples exchanged non legally binding vows of love, appreciation or any damn thing they could think of! A hugely successful spoof which had run at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival, (fake) marriage celebrant, Emilie Baker, said it was a great way of profiling the underlying “friendship” theme of the OK weekend. 

Teaming with writer and radio/ TV personality, Marieke Hardy, she led a riotious succession of couples declaring their passion through spontaneous and heartfelt vows as confetti, bouquets, applause and streamers rained down along the red carpet walk to a new life! Local band, “Blend It” (Leo Tellefson, Ross Lane, Danny Walsh and Stephen Melican) revved up the big crowd with sets in between the marriages as members of the Charlton A. & P. Society served the meal. 

Year 10 College students greeted diners with a shower of confetti at the door, as well as assisting with the preparation of the meal (salads, baked potatoes, beef and turkey) and clearing the tables. The packed hall was a sea of colour, laughter and music, along with a kaleidoscope of fashions sourced from Op Shops on the trip north. 

With the evening’s music fast approaching and revellers soaking up the atmosphere at the “East” (Charlton Hotel) a steady stream of people headed towards the Charlton Motel where the final preparations were under way for the big bands of the weekend: The Belair Lip Bombs, Watty Thompson and His Total Fire Band and the headliner, The Peep Temple.

Come twilight and with the crowd surging indoors, welcomes and acknowledgements meant all was in readiness as the first band set the room alight as OK Charlton 24 ramped up to a fitting finale. 

Charlton’s big weekend also included the Lions Club Town Garage Sale on Sunday, with interest and inquiries coming from as far away as Woomalong, Maryborough and Ballarat. 

The town also hosted the North West Region CFA Championships at Charlton Park on Sunday.

See all the pictures in the issue.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 27 February 2024.