Dardanup Bull festival pulls record crowd

A record crowd of more than 15,000 people flocked to Dardanup on Saturday for the 11th annual Bull and Barrel Festival.

Show chairwoman Jill Cross said the festival was a fabulous day out which went off without a hitch.

“The crowd was a big increase on last year’s numbers, which was probably a reflection of additional attractions and the sunshine,” she said.

“We had a sand sculpture artist, the Dream State Circus, farm animals and a variety of stalls.”

She said the new adventure trail was a great success with families.

“We would like to make the trail a regular feature of the festival, because it gave people the chance to learn about agriculture,” she said.

Mrs Cross said another star attraction of the show was the wine and beer marquee, with a big crowd remaining in the tent for most of the day, tasting the delicious produce of the region while they were entertained by the live bands on stage.

She said the crowd all congregated at the climax of the night, when the lights went out and the sacrificial wooden bull was burnt.

As the crowd chanted “burn the bull, burn the bull”, fire guns from Dream State Circus lit the 8m structure alight as clouds of smoke and roaring flames engulfed it.

Everyone cheered as the bull crashed to the ground in a final salute to what many believed was a great day out.

Mrs Cross said the show would not have been possible without the ongoing support and hard work from the show committee and Dardanup community.

She was also thankful to the festival’s major sponsor, Doral, and other sponsors for helping make the free event such a success.