Retro Rocks Nambour

Miss Glambour prizewinners, from left, Marita Cameron ‘Lady Pearl’, Miss Glambour winner Victoria Letheby ‘Curly Sue’ and Chantelle Powick ‘Miss Phoenix Belle’.

Neither COVID nor wet weather could dampen spirits at the weekend’s Retro Rocks  Nambour festival as locals enjoyed the fun and colour of custom culture responsibly.

 “Getting this year’s festival off the ground was quite a journey because the goal posts just kept moving,” said Festival founder and organiser, Kathleen Ashworth. 

“Dancing has been one of the main attractions at the festival in previous years, and unfortunately it could not go ahead this year because of COVID.

“So we didn’t have as many people turn out as we have in the past,” she said.  “Due to the weather on Friday we had a bit of a slow start, but as the sun came out, so did the people and I think that they had a great time and appreciated that the event went ahead. 

“We did our best to enforce COVID safety measures with the help of our ‘fun police’, who wandered through the crowds with tape measures, sanitising wipes and smiling faces, to remind people to be careful.”

 The Retro Rocks Festival has been running since 2014 and came about due to Kathleen’s love of Custom Culture, and her desire to showcase some of the retro-themed shops in Nambour. 

“There were some really cool retro shops in Nambour and I thought the festival was a wonderful way to make people across the Coast aware of them,” she said. 

“Nambour has unfairly suffered from a bad reputation over the years and I guess I wanted to help instil a sense of pride in the town. 

“The festival has always been about colour, fun and a sense of community.

 “Local businesses have been amazing supporters of the festival in previous years, and although many were unable to do the same this year because of the financial impact of COVID, we still enjoyed support from businesses like Korsos Photography, DownTown Burgers and Dirty Trix Garage,” Kathleen said.

“We are also very grateful to our Sunshine Coast Council who supported us through their grants program.”