This weekend, catch Forbes Town and District Band with South Pacific Concert Band at Victoria Park from 11am Saturday.

In the evening, the two groups of performers come together to present a tune written just for Forbes, Harry Schaefer’s Old Time Dance Tunes, at Forbes Town Hall from 7.30pm.

There’ll be a 70s Soiree at the Forbes Museum on Tuesday evening and a workshop with Jacqui Newling from Sydney Living Museums on Wednesday.

Jacqui Newling – colonial gastronomer for Sydney Living Museums – explores our history and heritage through food.

Tickets for both events are available at the museum in Cross Street.

Next Saturday, September 23, is the lakeside celebrations, with an afternoon of musical entertainment as well as food and family fun.

There will be workshops in the Generocity Theatre space, one featuring the work of Kate Englebrecht and her Lessons from the Long Paddock.

Kate will be screening the local story of Johnny Ridley that was part of the Wilcannia Forbes Diocese project.

The short film, plus several others from the vast diocese, were part of a project designed to open up conversations about what matters.

“Few country folk would consider themselves particularly spiritual people but many hold a worldview which reflects a sound grasp of some of the essentials you’d want to associate with authentic living,” Ms Englebrecht said.

“Faith in rural Australia does what it needs to do to feed others and stay alive.

“And it loves to laugh. It laughs at itself and at its own inadequacies and limitations. It laughs at futile attempts to alter the course of happenings and of time. It laughs at flies, at snakes coiled up in outback dunnies, cunning old cattle dogs and buggered up utes.”

Saturday evening will – as always – culminate in the beautiful lantern parade around Lake Forbes.

This year’s parade will combine with the Leukaemia Foundation’s Light the Night walk.

Light the Night is a unique fundraising event bringing Australia’s blood cancer community together in more than 140 locations to remember and reflect during a moving ceremony and short lantern walk.

Register to carry a lantern by going online to lightthenight.org.au