A week of creativity and community

At the same time, the Creative Seeds exhibition opened and workshops began in the Rochester Heritage Courthouse.

Participants got hands-on as they worked with paint, recycled bottles, teabags, fabrics, jewellery and even weaving macramé to create art.

The workshops complemented the Creative Seeds exhibition, which featured 146 works by more than 30 artists from across the region.

Creative Seeds organiser Annie Wills said it was their most successful exhibition yet.

“We had the most art sales ever, so it was really quite phenomenal,” she said.

“We had a great diversity of artists and quite a few different artists this year than we had other years, but it went extremely well.

“We are only very much a small committee ... and it was hard work, but when you have such a successful exhibition, it makes it all worthwhile.”

As part of the mural festival, Ripple Fest returned with a series of workshops later in the week from Wednesday, March 25, to Friday, March 27, at the Rochester Shire Hall.

One side of the hall hosted workshops led by artists Ellen Lee and Sonya Else, while the other displayed a mini exhibition featuring works by the mural artists.

The mural festival reached its peak on Saturday, March 28, with the completion of the murals and the announcement of this year’s winner, Marco Pennacchia.

The Ripple Fest team also hosted a street art session at the Rochester Skate Park and showcased the workshop’s collaborative creations.

Rochester Mural Fest committee member Tracie Kyne said the new committee was pleased with this year's event.

“We were blown away by the success of the festival. I mean, we always thought it would be a great week, but none of us knew how good,” she said.

“Any new committee, there will be things that we need to do differently ... but that's not to undermine the amount of work that the committee members did. Every committee member and volunteer needs a medal for what they achieved in this last week.

“The artists themselves said it was a fabulous week, and they had a ball, so (that was) really good to hear.”

While the mural festival wrapped up at 11.30am on the Saturday, there was still plenty happening around town, including a motorcycle display hosted by Rochester Motorcycles and the Lions Club’s Town Market.

From 1pm, Sips and Sounds took over the streets, with visitors wandering through the town centre to explore stores, listen to live music in pubs and cafés and participate in activities at local parks and Iddles Lane.

For The Local 3561 owners Kate and Travis Lee, it was their first time opening their doors to the public.

It was made even more special with their nephews James and Paddy Leahy playing live music during the evening.

Mrs Lee said as a business owner, the event was a great chance to bring people together to explore what the town had to offer.

“An event like this provides an opportunity for people to come and walk around and explore,” she said.

“It brings people together and that's one thing I noticed, there was such a different crowd and all ages coming through the door.

“There was definitely a lot of people who had travelled and even in our local catchment there were people who were coming to have a look.

“What the Sip and Sounds committee has done is unbelievable, and they can only grow too.”

From workshops and murals to live music and community activities, Rochester’s week-long celebrations showcased the vibrant spirit of a town coming together.