Tis the season of festivals in Ashburton

The last two weekends have been busy in Ashburton as Tom Price and Onslow came alive with festival excitement.

This year Tom Price celebrated the 50th Jubilee of the Nameless Jarndunmunha Festival, which started out as a community festival in the local carpark and has developed over the years into an iconic annual event on the Tom Price social calendar.  

Starting the celebrations with the Jubilee Ball on Saturday 3 August, over 250 guests enjoyed the chance to dress up and danced the night away as Perth band Switch lit up the stage.  Excitement and anticipation then built during the week as the line-up of food vendors, rides and stall holders made their way into town.

The Festival kicked off on Friday night with the popular Mik Mak’s and Suitcase Circus Show, followed by the Wearable Art Awards and Acrobatic performance.   The main entertainment then took to the stage with Good Faces 4 Radio and popular DJ’s Horizon and Brooklyn pumping out the tunes and keeping the dance floor busy.

As is tradition, Saturday morning saw the town gather for the annual street parade with clubs, groups, schools and local businesses taking part – while the rest of town lined the streets to cheer them on.  The main festival day continued with dancing and singing, the popular local talent quest and the display of Pilbara pooches in the annual dog show.

After the sun had set on Saturday night the sky lit up with the spectacular fireworks display before more entertainment took to the main stage to finish off another great event of community spirit, friendship and fun.

Onslow then came alive the following weekend, with the sixth biennial Passion of the Pilbara.

Kicking off with the POP launch party on Friday 16 August at the newly renovated Onslow Sports Club, residents and visitors celebrated with live music, with dinner on offer from an array of food vendors and a selection of free amusement rides.

As is tradition, Saturday morning saw the Community Garden bustle with activity as past Masterchef contestants Ben Bullock and Liliana Battle cooked up a storm. From noon on Saturday, Thalanyji Oval was festival central, with plenty of stalls, activities, roving entertainers, live music, food and of course, free rides. 

Popular musician Jon Stevens, formerly from Noiseworks, lit up the stage on Saturday night in a free community concert, with a show jam-packed full of hits from the Noiseworks and INXS collection. As crowds joined in to sing hit after hit, and danced the night away, it was a spectacular end to another great festival.

The Shire would like to thank our festival partners Rio Tinto and the Chevron-operated Wheatstone project, as well as the long list of sponsors and supporters who helped make these two festivals possible.

More news articles