It was grey, it was cold, it occasionally drizzled, well it was the middle of winter in Dorrigo and yet... they still came!
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Thousands of visitors and locals were met by a 9 foot high Snowman, Frostie, standing nobley in the centre median strip. Tables, all neatly aligned along the footpath, festooned with tinsel and manned by stallholders wearing Santa hats, presented the most wonderful array of goodies. It was all there; food, clothing, jewellery, metal work, toys, art works, cards, wood work, plants, soaps, leather work, fresh vegetables and fruit, free range pork, locally collected seeds, every jam, jelly, chutney, marmalade and pickle imaginable and more. All from the 2453 Postcode, what a tremendous effort by the Plateau residents.
Our local Choir entertained the crowd during the day with a beautiful selection of Christmas songs. They performed outside Red Dirt Distillery using the fantastic piano housed inside the cafe. The highlight was their finale, The Twelve Days of Christmas - Australian version. You know, the one where the "true love" sends koalas, kookaburras and kangaroos, to name a few. Each "gift" was indicated by a choir member standing up and holding aloft a picture of the animals. It was hysterical!
Frostie, dressed by Susie Snodgrass, looked resplendent with red buttons, a scarf and a very smiley face. All the material was donated by Misty Threads, his hat was a very large up turned flower pot from Megan Nursery and his arms were yellow garden rakes on loan from Dorrigo Hardware. Frostie himself, two round hay bales, came from Alan Jarrett's property and left the scene around 2.30pm as his head, the top bale, had been purchased by a local farmer and was loaded into the back of a ute and driven away. A visitor asked Susie what he was made of and left better informed about rural life. Another was heard to say "only in Dorrigo" as Frostie's top bale was expertly manipulated into the ute by Al with his tractor.
Just goes to show what the hard working Dorrigo Chamber of Commerce MID Sub Committee can do. Small rural towns are doing it tough with on line shopping making inroads into all kinds of purchasing, and the more visitors attracted to an event like Made in Dorrigo, the more chance that they will come back to the town.
Well done to the Sub Committee of Desmae Harrison, Carolyn Hulbert, David Scott and Susie Snodgrass. No doubt they will be regrouping next week to plan the December event. Mark your calendars and tell your family and friends to come and visit on Saturday, December 8. Check us out on Facebook and give us a "like".