Take a picturesque location, add fine food and wine, and watch people gather from all over the eastern seaboard.
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Add a stunning Spring afternoon, and you can begin to picture the amazing second Grazing Down the Lachlan.
Visitors were welcomed by Indigenous dancers, sharing stories of the Wiradjuri people.
As the diners made their way along the river, the menu featured chicken and vegetables from Wellington, eggs from Manildra, flours milled at Parkes.
There was lamb and chickpeas from Grenfell, cheese from Mudgee, olives from Canowindra – all paired with wines, beer or cider from the region by sommelier Peter Bourne.
Grazing chair Wendy Muffet on Monday said she could not have been more delighted with the weekend, or more proud of the team of volunteers who put it on.
“We have been getting messages from all over the country,” she said.
“Team Grazing could not be more excited about the outcomes of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“The town is beautiful and we got to showcase it.
“We are just so grateful to the volunteers, the sponsors, we couldn’t do it without them.”
This year, only the second the event has been held, saw it expand.
Friday night gave guests a special insight into the heart of the event, with creative director Mark Olive coordinating a conversation between committee members Penny Rout and Penelope McGufficke, food grower Sam Johnston, sommelier Peter Bourke and local Indigenous woman Jessica Buckman.
People appreciated the opportunity to learn more about organisers’ focus on sustainability and sourcing sustainably-farmed local produce, Wendy said.
On Sunday, Templar Street was transformed for breakfast, with local shopping as well as visiting food vans and music by local talent Em Pavey.
“Em was magical, the perfect match,” Wendy said.
From there visitors wandered to the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre for an Indigenous cultural event including art, basket weaving and storytelling.
Storyteller Larry Brandy had children engaged with his stories, while groups of up to 30 learned basket weaving.
It was a beautiful way to wind up a weekend that really can be described as “amazing”.
“The joy was the feedback,” Wendy said.
“People from Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra had the best weekend and they couldn’t wait to tell us.”
Committee members headed to the pub on Saturday night to see how people were feeling about the day.
“Anyone in a (Grazing committee) red shirt was treated like a rock star,” Wendy said.
Particularly pleasing was how many young people had brought friends back to their home town for the weekend and had a wonderful time.
It all leads to people scattering all over the country-side today, with “Forbes” and a smile on their lips.
And that’s the aim.
Grazing raises funds for the Somewhere Down the Lachlan sculpture trail, and there will be plenty of activity in that space in coming months.
“Our ultimate goal is to have a world-class sculpture trail,” Wendy said.
A sculpture trail that will build Forbes’ name as a destination for visitors.
The other highlight for the organisers, which might sound like an odd one, was returning to the site on Sunday night to pick up the bins.
There was about a quarter of a bin of food waste, which will go on the compost heap, and less than a wheelie bin of cardboard rubbish.
Everything else – the glasses, enamel plates and mugs, cloth napkins and forks that came from Qantas – is totally reusable in future years.
READ MORE: Photos of Grazing Down the Lachlan 2017
