For the best part of two weeks, our annual Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival will pay tribute to the two staple foods, combined with a mix of music, special events and live entertainment. 

It all got under way yesterday with plenty of stalls and some live entertainment.

For more than 30 years, the Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival has been a major event on the local calendar, and this year is no different.

In a canny decision, the festival coincides with the Tamworth Country Music Festival down the road, and yesterday we had entertainment by some musicians who were on their way there.

That decision was made by organisers to allow people heading to Tamworth to stop and check out our festival, and just maybe they will realise we have the better festival in the New England region at this time of year.

Yes, you read that right.

While we may not have the same crowd numbers as they do down the road at the country music festival, the Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival is a major fundraiser for our community organisations who volunteer their services for the event.

It still is very much a community event, with strong connections to the people in our community.

The locals don’t all leave town and head to the coast for the week to get away from all the crowds and the noise, and we like to point out that our festival lasts two days longer.

And when we get to the end of it, we can celebrate what our community has achieved together, rather than just be glad it’s over.

The secret to that of course is the number of wonderful volunteers who are vital to the attractions at the festival, as well as doing all the work behind the scenes.

When volunteers work together it makes the event an enjoyable experience, as the public can see the camaraderie our community and local groups have.

We are all in this together, and the profits go back to our community groups rather than fall into the hands of big promoters or Armidale Regional Council, which is something to celebrate. This is what makes our festival great.

We encourage everyone in Guyra to experience the festival, the fun, the local camaraderie and all the attractions of the Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival.

It’s time to celebrate what makes us great.