"THE cold never bothered me anyway."
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The line from Disney's Frozen perfectly summed up the mood in Kings Parade on Saturday night as the Illuminate Bathurst Winter Festival premiered.
Residents and visitors, dressed in their warmest winter woollies, embraced all that Bathurst Regional Council had to offer on the opening night.
The attractions included local food and wine stalls, a silent disco on the Bathurst Court House lawn, a children's disco, night bowling, a giant slide, a screening of Frozen, ice skating, and a chance to meet Elsa the Snow Queen.
Mayor Gary Rush said the atmosphere was tremendous and praised the community for embracing it so willingly.
"I thought it was fantastic," he said.
"It was another great celebration as part of our bicentenary year.
"It demonstrated a willingness of our residents to get out in the community."
But the highlight, of course, was the light show designed by Esem Projects to reflect modern Bathurst.
The six-and-a-half-minute display,which was played on a loop until 11pm,was projected on to the court house and other historic buildings around the CBD.
Bright colours, flashing lights, music and images told modern stories through the themes of energy, nature, community, faces,education and industry.
Project manager Michael Killalea said a lot of these stories were represented in the projections through lines and dots.
"I thought it was fantastic. It was another great celebration as part of our bicentenary year," mayor Gary Rush.
"We looked at sections of Bathurst as it is today and represented them in an abstract,graphic way," he said.
Esem Projects had several installations at various locations around town, and was responsible for the silent disco.
"We had 100 people dancing on the steps of the court house and it was just really great to see," Mr Killalea said.
The silent disco will move to Ribbon Gang Lane for the rest of the Illuminate Bathurst Winter Festival, which runs until July 12.
Members of the public have been very vocal in their support for the festival, with many calling on council to make it an annual event.
Cr Rush said the idea was already being considered by council after seeing the community's response in May and on Saturday night.
"We have always had it in our minds that this is an event that could last into the future,"he said.
"It would be very much worth the expense and the effort in putting it together."