AN annual event was declared following a torrent of more than 10,000 people cascaded through the streets of Rosedale on Sunday.
Perusing stalls, displays and eateries, Rosedale Vintage Retro Festival-goers took a step back in time, enjoying the sights and sounds of the ’60s and ’70s.
“We only expected around 500 to 1000 people, we were overwhelmed with the numbers,” Discover Rosedale member Phoebe Moncur said.
“It was a huge success to see people from as far as Daylesford, Ballarat, Phillip Island and Omeo attending.”
With about 100 stalls which came from as far as Canberra and displays of cars, caravans, motorbikes and engines, Ms Moncur said all age groups were catered for.
She said the festival gave people from across Victoria an opportunity to discover Rosedale.
“By allowing us to utilise the Lyon Street grass area it gave us the opportunity to spread people right across town,” Ms Moncur said.
“They wandered the streets from one side to the other which was a huge success.
“We had so many people say to us, ‘we didn’t even know you had cafes here?’
“They said ‘this is amazing, we’ll stop here now’.”
Sunday’s success has guaranteed the festival will now become an annual event.
“Next year we plan to do this again and add more to it and we’re going to start planning now for next year,” Ms Moncur said.
“Next time we would like to add more entertainment with bands and busking and more food stalls.
“This truly is an event that placed Rosedale on the map.”
