There were standout performances from the Bellingen High Jazz Band and its singers, Rosabella Stevens and Teal Rees, and the energy of the Your True Voice group and the Bollywood dancers got the audience up on their feet, singing out loud and gyrating enthusiastically.

Earlier in the day, a visit to the primary school and the Build a Canoe course with Brian Jones showed that people were getting close to having a river-worthy craft ready to be launched near Lavender’s Bridge on the Bellinger River on Friday at 2pm.

Paul Fisher from Moree and his 19-year-old son Max were putting finishing touches on a second canoe for the family to paddle on the Gwydir River. Paul has done the course before, with his eldest son.

Over at the Hebel Block Carving course an array of finished sculptures were on display.

Run by Adriann Vanderlugt, it involves sculpting a 3-D shape from a block of raw Hebel stone, which is basically basically aerated concrete that can be carved with wood working tools.

Tim Robertson from Urunga said he hadn’t taken the softness of the stone sufficiently into account initially.

“On my first attempt the head came off the owl,” he said.

Andrew Reed from Canberra made a sailing boat based on the Flying 15 type.

He said he raced in the National Titles in his Flying 15 just last week. He’s been sailing the Flying 15 for over 10 years, so he was very familiar with the shape.

The chicken made by Peter Cook from Maitland might eventually join the live ones his family keeps.

He said he had grown very fond of it over the course of the week, but his wife would decide where it ended up being placed.

Wendy Tanner from Thora said her sculpture represented the female form with an embryo in the womb.

It’s a gift for her son and his wife, who is expecting a baby.