No sooner had the Cobargo Show wound down than another band of volunteers moved in to transform Cobargo Showground into a wonderland of colour and movement for the Cobargo Folk Festival to be held March 3-5.
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By late afternoon, Friday, February 24, the builders had exchanged their tools for a cold beer but site decoration volunteers Catherine McEwan and Nicky Hutteman remained immersed in their work surrounded by hampers of brightly coloured fabrics and glittering trimmings.
Ms McEwan attended the second Cobargo Folk Festival in the late 1990s and has been volunteering there for 12 or 13 years.
"I initially came to check out the community to see if I wanted to live here."
She moved to Quaama from Sydney shortly afterwards.
Not long after, Coral Vorbach from the festival committee approached her and said "you look arty, how would you like to help".
Ms McEwan had previously worked as an osteopath and natural therapist but found Ms Vorbach to be very persuasive.
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Ms Hutteman moved to Cobargo 30 years ago after doing architectural drafting in Sydney.
Her involvement with the festival started about seven years ago when she responded to a public call out for volunteers.
"I had no idea of Nicki's extraordinary skills then and didn't understand her potential which has been slowly revealing itself over the years," Ms McEwan said.
No festival without volunteers
Over the years they have amassed a staggering array of second-hand and recycled materials, helped by their team of volunteers who look for things year-round.
Volunteers come from as far as Victoria and Canberra to help decorate the festival site over two and a half weeks.
Other volunteers work on construction, waste management, ticket sales, parking and camping, with site manager Alfredo LaCaprara already present 24/7 camping.
A sacred space
Ms McEwan said it is very satisfying walking through the festival "seeing everyone enjoying what we have put out there".
"We are creating a sacred space where people are encapsulated in this festival," she said.
The festival's community where everyone knows each others' name and looks after each other is what holds Ms Hutteman.
"We are responsible for this space so when people enter it their hearts open.
"They go ohhh because it is light, bright, colour and movement and it has to lift your spirits," Ms Hutteman said.
They also enjoy seeing acts like Isabel Rumble coming through who have performed on the Crossing Youth Perfomer Stage and those who have been taught by Bega's David Crowden.
For information about the festival and tickets visit the website.
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