THE ice rink is coming down, the ferris wheel has been dismantled and the carousel has been packed away. The quirky installations in the park have been removed and the Illuminations have been turned off.
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The Bathurst Winter Festival is over for 2019 but there is no doubt it will be back again in 12 months' time.
One of the region's enduring legacies from our bicentennial year in 2015 continues to attract strong crowds over the two-week period, despite the chilly conditions.
The festival's two Saturday market nights - Ignite The Night and Brew And Bites - were particularly popular, drawing estimated crowds of about 10,000 people on each occasion, while the daily attractions in Russell Street were also strongly supported.
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Even after five years the ice rink remains an incredible drawcard for the city with council figures showing that interstate visitors from Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia bought tickets this year. A postcode breakdown revealed 50 per cent of tickets were sold to people from within the 2795 postcode and 50 per cent outside.
It's a wonderful story of success.
Council deserves congratulations for making the festival happen each year but, equally, the Bathurst community - and broader Central West communities - must also be congratulated for continuing to support it.
But we should never rest on our laurels and now is the time to start thinking about how the festival can be made even better next year.
A regular theme amongst the feedback provided to the Western Advocate in recent days is the desire to see more food options on more occasions throughout the festival.
Many say they would like to see food vans in operation on every day of the festival and throughout the day as well, rather than focusing on the market nights.
It's certainly something to ponder, but it might be easier said than done.
Council relies on outside providers to operate the food stalls and they would have to be confident that the crowds would be there every day to justify their commitment.
And council must also be wary of putting offside local food operators that commit to our region for all 52 weeks of the year, not just the two weeks of the festival.
So let's be careful, but let's have the conversation. It's in everyone's interest to keep the festival growing.
