Now in its ninth year, River Daze has demonstrated what an inspired community with great leadership can achieve. The 2026 extended River Daze included FriDAZE and SunDAZE to offer free entertainment, shopping, and food experiences across our stunning twin towns.
Lead organiser Faye Ashwin said the weekend was an absolute thrill with great patrons and brilliant music.
“We were delighted with the event; all the hard work, planning, and preparation came together,” said Faye.
“Every year we make some changes, and this year we had a focus on making our bar and our set-up around that, more efficient and more effective. We also invested in making our kids zone much more entertaining, much broader, and more fun space for kids to be.”
The changes had a dramatic effect on the flow of patrons around the event and the speed and ease of grabbing refreshments. A new watering station in the rotunda was also a hit, with 20 barrels of water consumed during Saturday’s main event. The relocation of the bar also enabled more food vans and greater seating spaces to see all the entertainment on offer.
“All our bands, our music, were brilliant. David Story did a great job; he timed it beautifully, and the build-up over the night got everyone rocking. It was great.”
Saturday’s entertainers included the Rogue Traders, Bon Jovi Forever, Tusk, Zkye & the Guyz and Darcy Ramage.
Feedback for FriDAZE and SunDAZE has blown away the organisers, with the community able to enjoy free entertainment and visitors keen to extend their stay in the area. Amanda Brennan said the Riverdaze Saves promotion and the events of Friday and Sunday were the icing on the cake of the iconic Riverdaze concert.
“Honestly, as organisers Tracey Brennan and I were totally overwhelmed with the support over the three days,” said Amanda.
“The main aim of extending to the three days was, while we’ve got everyone in town, let’s give them something more.”
“I believe that it was achieved with all businesses involved in the FriDAZE and SunDAZE, and we were really happy with the turnout.”
“We were absolutely blown away with the success for a first time round!”
Bookings are already being made for visitors to come and enjoy next year’s three days of fun, in the second weekend of March!
See all the pictures from the event in the issue.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 19 March 2026.
