People in the thousands enjoyed 13 hours of live entertainment on the village green in Heywood, flowing along the river area to the recreation reserve.

Festival president Ross Barclay has co-ordinated the past 19 events and said it was a happy crowd filling the town on Saturday.

“It would’ve been around the 12,000 we aimed for,” he said.

“We had a fantastic crowd of people and a lot of happy people.

“It was a really good crowd. Everywhere you went there were people. There were no gaps. Having it spread out the way we’ve got it now does help.

“The way we timed the events flowed on so people could get from one thing to another. The variety of entertainment we put on this year, some of it country people just don’t get to see.

“It didn’t matter where you went with something on, there was always a crowd around to watch it.

“The Flair Riders stunt motorcycle guys drew a great crowd and want to come back with a new show already.”

Praising the organising committee, Mr Barclay said the event’s three other new attractions — the Wheel of Steel, the Daredevil Dog stunt show and bluegrass band The Pigs — also drew strong crowds.

“There’s just a fantastic group of people involved, coordinating different areas. They do their jobs and they do it to perfection — that’s what makes everything so easy,” Mr Barclay said.

Other highlights of the day included lawnmower racing, a woodchopping competition, a ute muster and truck show, a visit from the Halls Gap Zoo, food stalls and fireworks.