After a hugely successful first year in 2023, the New England Heritage Festival is prepping for an even bigger event this November 9 and 10. The popular celebration of heritage equipment, machinery vehicles and manufacturing techniques will once again take over the Armidale Showgrounds in a flurry of steam powered goodness.
Rob Taber, from the New England Antique Machinery Club (NEAMC), said they were overwhelmed with the success of last year’s event.
“We decided to freshen things up a bit last year after many years of running the New England Antique Machinery Club Rally and the newly created Heritage Festival ended up being a huge success,” said Mr Taber.
“We had triple the numbers from previous years and we hope that this year will be even bigger as we’re adding even more new things to the festival.”
The line-up is still being finalised but all the old favourites will be back, including the steam engine sawmill, as well as tractors, draught horse demonstrations and antique motorcycles and cars.
“We’re very excited to have some different exhibits this year including a replica of the James Bond Aston Martin,” said Mr Taber.
“We’re really looking forward to having Mel and Susie the Bush Poets perform. They’re very clever and very funny so they’ll be excellent to watch.”
“We’re also really happy that we were able to secure a blacksmith this year. It was something we missed out on for 2023 but we’ve got it confirmed for this year and we’re in the process of organising to have our blacksmith shoe a draught horse on site.”
If you’re keen on being a part of all the action for 2024, Mr Taber assures us that applications are still very much open for displays and stall holders.
NEAMC is now taking submissions for the popular auction event, which will be held on the Sunday.
“The auction was incredibly popular last year, we had people selling everything from antique tools right the way up to a vintage truck,” said Mr Taber.
“We’re looking for items now so if you’ve got something old that you’re looking to sell, please get in touch.”
If you’ve got something old but you’re not sure what it’s worth (or even what it is), this may also be the weekend for you, with NEAMC currently trying to organise a Collectables Fair to run alongside the festival.
“We’ve got a lot of club members who are really good with identifying vintage and heritage items so we’re just in the process of hopefully organising a bit of a collectables fair where people can bring things along and have them valued or assessed,” said Mr Taber.
Mr Taber said that NEAMC are now also taking expressions of interest for food truck vendors for the day to keep the hungry crowds happy.
The entry fee for 2024 will remain the same as last year, at $10 per adult and all children under 16 years old free.
For more information on the event, or how to become a stall holder, visit the New England Heritage Festival Facebook page, or contact Mr Taber directly on 0428 751 275.
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