Granny Smith Festival facts for kids
The Granny Smith Festival is a big yearly party in Eastwood, New South Wales, which is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It started in 1985 and has grown to be the largest event of its kind in Sydney's Northern District. More than 80,000 people come to enjoy it every year!
The festival happens around Eastwood Oval on the third Saturday of October. It celebrates a special person from the 1800s named Maria Ann "Granny" Smith. She is famous for growing the first Granny Smith apple. Her work helped the Ryde and Hunters Hill areas become successful. The festival runs from 9:00 am until 8:30 pm.
Some of the best parts of the festival are the Grand Parade, which goes down Rowe Street, and the amazing fireworks show. You can also find many stalls, fun community events, live music, and exciting rides. A cool tradition is that the New South Wales Mounted Police always lead the Grand Parade.
Contents
Festival Highlights and History
The Granny Smith Festival is known for its lively atmosphere and fun activities. Over the years, it has become a very important event for the local community.
Special Festival Years
Some years have been extra special for the festival, often because of other big events happening at the same time.
2007 Festival and Elections
The 2007 Granny Smith Festival was very important because it became a big place for political campaigns. For the first time ever, the festival was officially opened by the Prime Minister, John Howard, who was also the local Member of Parliament for the area. Many other local politicians and their helpers also attended. They used the festival to talk to people about their ideas and plans.
2008 Festival and Local Elections
The 2008 Granny Smith Festival was also significant because a special local election, called the Ryde by-election, happened on the same day, October 18. This election was held because the previous local Member of Parliament, John Watkins, had left his position. About 280 different stalls were set up at the festival that year.
Recent Festivals and Entertainment
Since 2009, the Granny Smith Festival has continued to bring great entertainment to its visitors.
- The 2009 festival featured a tribute band called Desperado - The Eagles Show, playing songs by the famous band Eagles.
- In 2010, the headline act was ABBA'S BACK, an ABBA tribute band.
- The 2011 festival had MOTOWN, The Show! as its main entertainment.
- In 2012, the Australian Blues Brothers Show, a Blues Brothers tribute band, was the headline act.
- The 2013 festival featured KillerQueen, a tribute band to Queen.
- In 2014, the main performer was Roger Galante.
- The 2015 festival was held on October 17.
- The 2016 festival's headline act was "Party Rock People," which included singers Jasmine-Jade and Nada-Leigh Nasser.
- In 2018, the festival ended early, and the fireworks were canceled because of heavy rain and thunderstorms.
- The festivals from 2020 onwards were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The 2022 Granny Smith Festival was held on October 15, with Dami Im as the headline performer.
