Every mythical creature on earth stepped out of obscurity over the weekend of April 28-29 to take part in long-awaited return of Ironfest at Portland.
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President of Ironfest Inc. Macgregor Ross said he believes the numbers matched the 15,000-17,000 people that attended last year's Halloween event in Lithgow.
"I stopped counting at 27. They wouldn't stop moving," Mr Ross mused.
According to Mr Ross, there was a mixture of local and visiting attendees to the festival.
"We ended up getting a lot of locals, but I think it was still in the minority," he said.
"It was probably 50-50, but it wasn't any different to the last Ironfest as far as the mix of people in costume and not."
"The vibe was there."
In just 11 weeks, the organisers managed to put together the festival that spanned the site of the Foundations to the cement works - with stalls, musicians and cosplayers spread throughout.
"When I do the festival, I think of it as an art piece.I've got all these components. Stall holders, performers and what not and I look at site and think "That piece would fit good there," Mr Ross said.
"Basically I get an impressionistic idea of what's going to happen."
Mr Ross said one of the highlights for Ironfest for him was the ArtzPiknik stage, which was organised by Sam Williams and featured performances by local artists.
"They we all fantastic," Mr Ross said.
"That was a big win and that's new. We haven't had community groups like that were not musicians. So that was a really great thing."
According to Mr Ross, the return of ironfest in 2025 is looking promising with the dates already scheduled for the last weekend in April.
Mr Ross said it's a possibility that the bigger features of past Ironfest's including jousting and the cannons may return, but nothing is set in stone.
"So many things about the future are unclear, but what we achieved is all we know," Mr Ross said.
"Which is the festival is alive."
Reidun Berntsen
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
Reidun is a Journalist and writer who lives in a country town 3 hours from Sydney, Australia. From a young age, Reidun has been in love with words and the infinite possibilities they bring. Stories, features and poems have been a major part of her writing career.
