Jumpers and Jazz in July 2024: Hardworking volunteers reveal why they keep wheels turning at iconic festival | GALLERY
Take a look inside how one of the Southern Downs’ biggest draw cards works as it returns for its 20th anniversary, made possible by volunteers, a lot of cups of tea and kilometres of yarn. Here’s why they do it year after year.
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On the eve of one of the region’s most iconic events, the hardworking volunteers are putting the finishing touches on the colourful displays around town.
Hundreds of hours of labour and hundreds of kilometres of yarn go into ensuring the Jumpers and Jazz in July festival runs smoothly across the event’s 10 days.
Celebrating 20 years in 2024, the two-decade anniversary of the festival is jam packed with things to do from music, workshops and community events, almost entirely free and run by volunteers.
Many of the volunteers have been involved since the festivals inception, keeping the proud tradition going, and will tell you planning and craft for next year’s event starts almost immediately after the last day of the festival.
Elaine Stewart and Winsome Anderson have been involved with the festival for 10 and 20 years respectively, and say the festival is only growing.
The pair are involved in making the flower tower at St Mark’s church, which requires the help of the local fire department to set up, as well as women from across Queensland sending in flowers for the display.
“It requires about six months just for planning, we love getting together every week in the spirit of collaboration and fun,” Ms Stewart said.
“It’s cold and quirky, the theme is fantastic and there’s so much on. People love the quirkiness but we just love being together. Lots of chatting and cups of tea.”
“When you go down the street and everyone is chatting it’s such a feel-good and happy thing,” Ms Anderson said.
“It’s great for the town because people feel like they’re doing something for the community. I think us crafty people just like being able to do things and to learn from each other.
“At the start people might have thought it was too quirky and it wouldn’t last but it’s amazing that it has and has grown to include more people and more events.”
Couple Lisa Burgess and Louis van Slobbe have been an eye-catching sight at the festival for just under a decade, with their famous yarn-bombed combi van and caravan once again on show.
“We get a lot of smiles, but the main question is ‘why’? and ‘how much wool?’ ,” Mr van Slobbe said.
“It’s a fun loving and artist’s festival, it brings a unique element to town.”
Mr van Slobbe estimates hundreds of hours and “kilometres of yarn” were involved in the creation of the spectacle.
“We do it for the sake of art, but we keep coming back because it’s such a great thing for the town. It brings everyone together and brings a lot of people to the town, it’s a fun time,” Ms Burgess said.
“For me it’s just the smile on the face and you can see young kids and older folks in awe- it makes it worthwhile,” Mr van Slobbe said.
The artist said he saw no end scope for the festival, and the only limitation was accommodation in town.
“It will only grow from here and it all goes back to the small crew of volunteers.”
Pam Burley is the president of the festival but maintains everyone does equal work to make sure the festival is a success – which sometimes looks like a “full time job”.
“The festival has grown from a one sided pamphlet of events to a 26-page book with countless things to do,” Ms Burley said.
“We all get something out of it and a lot of people prepare for months and months just to make it happen for the community.
“We just want people to come and enjoy it, there is something for everyone. We can be so busy so everyone can enjoy the festival, but our enjoyment comes from people having a great time.
“You can feel the energy stirring and there's a vibe around town and that’s what we’re all about the passion and the pride. It’s our event and us as a community are a part of it.”
You can check out the full range of events here.
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Originally published as Jumpers and Jazz in July 2024: Hardworking volunteers reveal why they keep wheels turning at iconic festival | GALLERY
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