Festival approaches

Held each year to commemorate his life and work, the Henry Lawson Festival promotes and recognises the arts in Grenfell. Beginning on the night of Wednesday, June 5 with the Poetry by the Firelight event, the Festival will run through to Monday, June 10.

The official opening is on Thursday 7pm June 6 at the Community Hub where competition winners will be announced. There will be a concert Friday night at the Showgound pavilion featuring Chloe & Jason Roweth. Saturday, June 8 sees some of the biggest activities of the Festival including the Street parade, Poets Breakfast, live music, street entertainment, rides and market stalls.

Sunday the Main Street will again be alive with the Car Show, entertainment and food stalls for all to enjoy. Rides will be available all weekend starting Friday at 4.00pm till Sunday in Short Street. The festival will also include not to be missed events - Caragabal Camp Oven Cook-Off. Iandra Castle Open Day and Bulla Creek Brewing Co with bookings essential.

Entries are still open for the Art Competition (closes on May 24) and Window Dressing Competition (closes on May 19).

Every year the festival embraces a theme from one of Henry Lawson's iconic poems. This year is based around the piece 'Up the Country' which reflects Henry Lawson's deep understanding of the Australian bush and his empathy for the people who lived and worked there.

'Up the Country' was first published in The Bulletin magazine on July 9, 1892, under the title Borderland, and started the Bulletin Debate, a series of poems by both Lawson and Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.

In "Up the Country", Lawson recounts his trip to the barren and gloomy Australian bush and criticises "City Bushmen" such as Banjo Paterson who tended to romanticize bush life. The festival's competitions focus on the theme and the thread within us that will always lure us home .For more information visit https://henrylawsonfestival.com.au/