The Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special exhibition at the Echuca Historical Society Museum.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
A special exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Echuca Moama Winter Blues Festival has opened at the Echuca Historical Society Museum, showcasing the event's remarkable growth from humble beginnings to a major regional festival.
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Echuca Historical Society volunteer Di Smyth has been part of the team that has curated a comprehensive storyboard display chronicling the festival's evolution.
“We have put together a storyboard display that displays the timeline of the Winter Blues Festival and how it has grown from a handful of activities,” she said.
The festival's origins were modest, with just a few performances in the heritage precinct.
Echuca Historical Society volunteer Di Smyth is part of the team that has curated a comprehensive storyboard display chronicling the festival's evolution.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
“All the first acts just performed in the streets around the heritage area of town,” Mrs Smyth said.
“I have heard there were four acts, and I've heard six acts, so somewhere around there.”
According to the Riverine Herald, published on Monday, July 26, 1999, the first ‘Beat the Winter Blues’ festival was more of a low-cost community event than the blues music festival we know today.
The 1999 event had buskers, stilt walkers, demonstrations and a wine waiter’s race.
The 1999 article said, ‘the shop keepers had been really happy with the result’ and many people had commented to one of the event organisers, Kylie Suich, that it ‘should happen all the time’.
At the time, Ms Suich who was part of the heritage traders group which ran the event, said that they, “would consider running the festival again next year”.
Today, the festival has become a significant tourism drawcard for the region.
The exhibition showcases the festival's growth from a small community event to a major regional festival.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
“It brings something like 12,000 visitors to Echuca. With Echuca's population, around 15,000, this means that the adult population more than doubles for the event,” Mrs Smyth said.
The exhibition, which runs until mid-August 2025, draws heavily on archived copies of the Riverine Herald.
“Almost all of my research was through the Riverine Herald. They have always been a great supporter of the Winter Blues, right from the first year,” Mrs Smyth said.
The Echuca Historical Society Museum is located at 1 Dickson St, Echuca, and is open daily from 10am to 2pm.
Bob Fuller from Waikerie in South Australia busted some moves to the high voltage set from blues rock band Transvaal Diamond Syndicate at the Shamrock Hotel in 2016.
Photo by
Riverine Herald
Ginja Roe added a blend of country and rock to the blues festival in 2007.
