General News
1 October, 2026
Fabulous Weekend in Gil
This year's Goin' to Gil Festival was a great success.
Gilgandra’s biggest social event, the 2026 Goin’ to Gil Festival, has officially wrapped up after three full days of activities and celebrations.
This year, Goin’ to Gil was bigger and better than ever before, bringing in surrounding villages, Armatree and Tooraweenah, to host their own events, as well as headlining some of Australia’s most loved artists.
For the first time, as part of the Streets of Colour funding, Armatree and Tooraweenah hosted their own events on the Friday and Sunday respectively. Armatree kicked the weekend off with their Street Party, having something for everyone from an array of food trucks, market stalls, the ever popular tea cups ride, an inflatable slide, and face painting, as well as the pub for adults to grab a refreshing drink.
The Armatree Street Party Committee were excited to join in this year’s Goin’ to Gil Festival, and said that they wanted not only to start off the festival with good music and food, but to kick off the school holidays with a bang.
The main star of the Street Party was the official lighting of the Big ArmaTREE, a large metal art installation built in 2022 to represent the village’s community spirit and strength. The official lighting of the Big ArmaTree was a big milestone for the community, with the tree now permanently bathed in the vibrant lighting at night.
Saturday was the big day, with the Gilgandra Street Parade, Local Legends Busking, a plant sale to help with the restoration of the St Ambrose Memorial Anglican Church Restoration and, of course, the Under the Gums music festival. The Street Parade started off with a martial arts demonstration from local martial arts school, Titan Martial Arts.
Students as young as six showed off their skills, breaking some wooden blocks and impressing more than a few people. Then it was on to the main parade, where schools from all over the district marched alongside the Oompah Loompah Band, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star, along with some classic cars, local volunteer groups, tractors, and so much more.
Gilgandra’s Miller Street was packed despite the heat, with people excited to get out and be a part of the community event.
Children were especially thrilled when participants of the street parade handed out free lollies.
Excitement was palpable by the time 1:30pm rolled around and the gates to Under the Gums swung open. The stage was set, the food trucks were set up, cold drinks were ready to beat the heat, and everyone was ready for some fantastic live music.
Local band BADJA took to Terry D Nangle stage to kick the afternoon off and Aunty Kathy Bird delivered a moving Welcome to Country.
After exploring the streets of Gilgandra, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star also got on stage to share in a dance with kids.
Following them, a long way from home, Elmo and Cookie Monster of Sesame Street also made an appearance.
The Oompah Loompah Band continued to entertain crowds with classic hits like ‘Mamma Mia’ by ABBA and ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears, winding their way through crowds for all to enjoy the acoustic renditions.
Up and coming Australian country artist, Tori Darke also took to the stage winning the crowd over with her energetic and relatable songs such as ‘My Boots Made Me Do It’ as well as her latest single, ‘Who I Am (Without You)’. Following Tori Darke’s spectacular performance were Tamworth band, Splashpool.
The band got people up and dancing, covering hits from Australian and international bands and bringing energy into the late afternoon.
Energy was high, and peaked when the star-studded The Fabulous Caprettos came on. The four person band includes Dave Gleeson (The Angels), Rai Thistlethwayte (Thirsty Merc), Wendy Matthews, and Mark Williams (Dragon). The Fabulous Caprettos delivered hits from each singer’s career, from Thirsty Merc’s famous ‘In the Summertime’, to The Angels classic ‘Am I Ever Going to See Your Face Again’.
Dave Gleeson also dedicated Screaming Jets unofficial Newcastle anthem ‘Better’ in honour of the Newcastle Knights win in the NRL just a few days prior.
Closing out the night was famous country music duo, The Wolfe Brothers, who gained notoriety after placing second in Australia’s Got Talent in 2012. The brothers took to the stage after their guitarist warmed the crowd up waving the Australian Flag. They played hit after hit, including their song dedicated to Australia. During their last few songs, the crowd was awed by a brilliant display of colourful fireworks over the Coo-ee Memorial Park. Despite the music ending and the gates closing, the night was far from over, with revelers making their way over to the Sporties for the official Under the Gums afterparty.
Many a happy face could be spotted at the club, and live music continued with solo performer Em Williams.
You might be forgiven for thinking that that was it for the Goin’ to Gil Festival, but there is no rest for the wicked and Sunday was just as jam packed as Saturday, for the Gilgandra Triathlon.
Over 250 people turned out on Sunday morning to take part in the Gilgandra Toyota Colour Run. Participants ran, jogged, and walked the Windmill Walk returning in a blur of chalk colour.
Following the colour run was the Gilgandra CWA Watermelon Eating Competition.
This year competitors were hungry for the win, racing to get the cleanest slice of watermelon without squishing out the juice too much and taking home a goody bag of prizes donated by Rohrs Home Hardware.
To finish off the morning’s activities, people of all ages took part in the Gilgandra IGA Coo-ee Call Competition.
Taking locals back to their roots and paying homage to the brave soldiers who set off from Gil in the Coo-ee March in 1915.
There were some big voices, and winners were able to take home some special gifts which were donated by the Gilgandra IGA.
For those who were still craving some light entertainment and live music, Tooraweenah was the place to be.
Tunes in Toora wrapped up the Goin’ to Gil weekend, with the Tooraweenah village hosting an inflatable slide, a paper plane workshop, live music, and bush dancing.
Children were also entertained by the chance to make the street bright with chalk drawing taking place on the road, funded by the Streets of Colour program.
Abby Tate, one of the event organisers said that despite this year not being the biggest in terms of numbers [for Under the Gums] feedback that her and the team had received had been nothing but positive.
