A massive crowd left organisers short on food but long on satisfaction, it was the standout at this year’s Glenreagh Timber Festival. Source: Coff’s Coast Advocate
Festival president Chris Hanson said his committee had budgeted on a crowd of 3000 to 5000 but said on Saturday at least 6000 people had flocked to the historic timber village.
“We started to run out of food and that sort of stuff,” he said. “But you’d have to say we’re very pleased with the success of it.”
The Kevin Smith Memorial NSW 250mm Combination Championship was the highlight of the woodchopping component of the festival and won by Blake Marsh, from Bellbird near Cessnock.
The 24-year-old Australian representative recently returned from the 2017 Stihl Timbersports Rookie World Championship in Hamburg, Germany where he finished second, a single point behind Sweden’s Ferry Svan.
He won the feature event at Glenreagh ahead of hometown favourite Dan Shipman, with whom he later combined with in the two-man saw. Grafton’s Chris Owen was third.
“It’s always good to beat Dan,” Marsh said cheekily. “There’s a pretty strong rivalry between us all.
“It’s the third time I’ve been to Glenreagh. It’s a good event and it’s country shows like this that keep this sport going.”
Mr Hanson said the festival aims to create nostalgia about the old ways things were done in Australia, but seeks to do it in new ways.
“We always try to have something new to keep people coming back and this year it was a Shannons Show and Shine of vintage cars from the area.
He said more than 50 vintage and classic cars were exhibited and a wide range of car clubs were represented. One of the features was Steve Harris, from Petrol Head Car Club in Coffs Harbour, showing off his 1926 Buick.
