Wagga festival-goers were greeted with a dazzling display of musical colour as the Festival of W officially kicked off this weekend.
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Young and old turned out to see a range of wintery wonders on show at the festival, including the return of the popular ice skating rink at the Victory Memorial Gardens, and an all-new light show display at the Wollundry Lagoon by the Wagga Civic Centre.
Simon Brown and wife Alison Tokley travelled from Laos to visit family in the area and were very impressed.
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"We really enjoyed the light show on Saturday night and thought it was both spectacular and very special," Mr Brown said.
"It's a lovely family event and it was a great time to be out."
In true form, the wintery festival kicked off with a wintery start.
"It would have been great if it was 20 degrees warmer," he said.
Mrs Tokley, who is originally from Wagga has been enjoying the winter fest in more ways than one.
"I've been sending pictures [of the ice skating] to all my American friends who think Australia is hot," she said.
"I told them we do get cold weather here too."
Mrs Tokley particularly liked the musical light show, describing it as "very atmospheric."
"I would love to get a copy of the sound track. It was beautiful," she said.
"It was beautifully choreographed.
"I loved how the trees changed from lighting rods, to waterfalls to flowers depending on how they used the lights and changed the colours.
"It was very effective.
"There was also a lovely movement from ancient Australia to quiet bushland and then it seemed you were flying over a city."
Despite the glowing review, Mrs Tokley does believe there should be greater accessibility features added to the light show area, to make it more friendly to elderly residents.
"While the light show was gorgeous at night, I'm glad we left my elderly father at home, because it would have been a struggle for him to negotiate [the area]," she said.
Meanwhile, a group from RAAF Base Wagga was also in town to try out the ice skating rink.
One of their number, Robert Oswin was quite impressed at what's on offer.
"It seems to be a really good event and everyone is enjoying themselves a lot," Mr Oswin said.
"It also looks really awesome. If people were just passing through, they will probably stay a little bit longer, so it brings a lot of happiness to everyone."
His mate Max Chambers noted the "smiles" and "positive vibe" of the festival.
"There's been a good turnout," Mr Chambers said.
The festival runs through until Sunday July 16.
For more information go to: https://visitwagga.com/festival-of-w
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