By Ann Marie Angebrandt
THE 29th annual Weerama Festival was a resounding success with up to 20,000 people enjoying the four days of free entertainment and outdoor fun at events held across Wyndham.
Artistic director Heather Marcus said Sunday’s procession was a highlight as some 50 floats, walking groups and marching bands paraded down Watton St under sunny skies.
“On the other days we had winds, we had heat and we had dust, but Sunday was absolutely perfect,” she said.
Nancy Alifraco, one of thousands of parade spectators and a life-long Werribee resident, said she had gone to every parade for years.
“We’ve got to support these events to make them successful, and every year it seems to get better,” she said.
Hoppers Crossing Uniting Church, with its colourful entry featuring dozens of gospel singers, won the award for best float.
Local firefighters and State Emergency Service volunteers led and finished the parade in a tribute to emergency service workers.
Ms Marcus said much of the Weerama budget was purposely dedicated to bringing in high-calibre entertainment for the weekend.
This year it included Aussie vintage rockers Cotton, Keays and Morris, and perennial favourite, Kisstroyer, a tribute band that drew hundreds of Kiss groupies from across Melbourne.
“We’re trying to grow this festival along with the population because there are so many street festivals out there now,” Ms Marcus said.
“We need to make it the highest quality possible.”
Another highlight was the Wyndham Idol competition, judged by Werribee’s own Australian Idol finalist Ricky Muscat.
Hoppers Crossing singer Brooke Addamo, 16, took out the title, a follow-up to her success as the inaugural winner of the competition in 2005.
Ms Marcus said organisers were already tossing around ideas to make next year’s 30th Weerama festival even bigger and better.
