Thousands of residents are expected to brave the winter cold to experience Wagga's biggest and brightest light show, with the Festival of W to light up the CBD over the July school holidays.
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Wagga city council events officer Emma Corbett said they were overwhelmed with the positive feedback they received last year.
"We had over 120,000 attendees across the 16 days [last year], which is huge for Wagga," Ms Corbett said.
"We will have a new show with some new sort of pop up offerings, which is really exciting, we encourage everyone to come down and see what we have on offer for 2024."
The festival officially kicks off on July 6, with the first day of ice skating guaranteed to bring all-day crowds to Victory Memorial Gardens.
Mandylights, the team behind last year's display, is ready to wow once again with a light and sound experience called Lightvision, which features large scale water lilies and a 48-metre tunnel of light.
Activations of First Nations art and work from local artists are also expected to light up the lagoon during the July school holidays festival.
From July 12 to 14, a pop-up installation from the NSW Government's Open Streets program will showcase a temporary light installation featuring an eight-metre long canopy of light that festival-goers can walk through.
It's hoped the festival can boost tourism in Wagga during the traditionally quiet period of winter.
"We're confident with what we're putting on offer for the community and visitors, so we're expecting to experience similar numbers to last year," Ms Corbett said.
Lights, skating and more to warm the heart this winter
Ice skating will return for another year at the Victory Memorial Gardens, with the House of FoW, curated by Mr Lawrence, on hand to satisfy any hunger needs.
Alongside the lights and action will be music performances from local, national and international artists, with a lineup to be confirmed at a later date.
"The festival will be in its glory between 5pm and 10pm daily, but obviously there is also things to do throughout the day, so we do encourage you to attend multiple days at different times to experience the festival," Ms Corbett said.
The festival will run from July 6 to July 21 at the Wollundry Lagoon. To purchase tickets for ice skating and for the full Festival of W lineup, go to visitwagga.com/festival-of-w.
Jeremy Eager
Originally from Wollongong, Jeremy has made the move to The Daily Advertiser to tell the stories of the Riverina. Got a story to share? Email jeremy.eager@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Originally from Wollongong, Jeremy has made the move to The Daily Advertiser to tell the stories of the Riverina. Got a story to share? Email jeremy.eager@austcommunitymedia.com.au
