The annual Marmalade Festival Peel Jam has given local musicians an audience in tough times for the entertainment industry and brought joy to the community, all while raising money for a worthy cause.
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Peel was echoing with the sounds of local music on Saturday as the event played out in a COVID-safe way.
Around 50 musicians performed to a limited crowd around Peel's Old School Hall, while artists had the opportunity to display their work in an exhibition.
The event had a strict limit of 200 people at a time, and organiser Christine Porter said everyone was very respectful of that and other COVID-safe measures.
"It was amazing, it was just a fantastic day; we were just blown away by the quality of the music and the audience, the number of people who supported it," she said.
"At the largest point the audience was at 130 ... it was a great audience, the perfect number of people without us getting nervous about how many people were going to be there, it worked very nicely.
"... I think everyone is just so used to this new way of functioning. People were great, we only had one point where there was a significant queue, but everyone was standing on the blue crosses as per the physical distancing guidelines. People were really understanding."
Importantly, the event gave an opportunity to musicians to perform in front of an audience and to feel the support from each other.
Ms Porter said the highlight of the day was being able to have a stage band play.
"To get 18 people on stage and performing in a COVID-safe way ... there's something amazing with a stage band with those horn sections, it's just this extraordinarily powerful sound," she said.
Peel Jam is also a fundraiser, and the organisers were able to raise $2000 for the upkeep of the Old Schoolhouse.
Ms Porter thanked the community for its support, as well as extended thanks to Bathurst Regional Council, Bathurst Visitor Information Centre manager Dan Cove, and local media.
