Attendances at all bicentenary events were outstanding.

From those who braved the cold for the official Proclamation Day ceremony and flag staff reinstatement to the 10,000 who packed Kings Parade for the opening night of Illuminate and thousands more who have enjoyed the range of exhibitions and concerts, the past fortnight has certainly been one to remember.

And so we can barely wait for the start of the Illuminate Bathurst Winter Festival in July.

The program will see the Illuminate team return to light up iconic local buildings with stories about contemporary Bathurst and, hopefully, even more food and wine stalls than we had in Kings Parade on May 9.

But, undoubtedly, the highlight will be an ice rink set up in Kings Parade to create a real winter wonderland. It’s just the sort of attraction that will live on in kids’ minds long after the bicentenary has passed.

But this winter festival has the potential to be so much more than a one-off bicentenary celebration. Bathurst has tried for years to find its own niche festival to promote local food and wine and bring in those valuable tourism dollars.

BRE&D On The Bridge only lasted a few years and BRE&D Week has also struggled to make a mark.

But maybe a winter festival is the right recipe for success.

We now know that Bathurst families will turn out in their thousands for special events, so it’s just a matter of finding the right events.

Bathurst Regional Council has done a great job of organising the city’s bicentenary celebrations and it would be nice to see it also take an ongoing role in organising an annual winter festival.

That would be a fitting legacy of the bicentenary and a reminder that we have plenty to celebrate in our community – every year.