Dumbleyung Events Committee ready for inaugural Bluebird Festival to go off like a rocket in April

Dumbleyung is getting ready to deliver a fun new event in April and if it’s anything like its record-setting namesake, the Bluebird Festival is set to go off like a rocket. Named after Donald Campbell’s hydroplane Bluebird, the festival will showcase the character and community of the Wheatbelt South town where the pioneering speedster set a water speed record in 1964. It is being organised by the Dumbleyung Events Committee and president John Lee said it would mark a new beginning. “It was known previously as the Taste of Dumbleyung; this time around we’ve scaled it down a bit and we wanted to change the name,” he said. “We thought that ‘Bluebird’ is pretty synonymous with Dumbleyung — we’re well known for the lake and the Donald Campbell records, so we changed the name and we’re going with that one.” The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic saw Taste of Dumbleyung fall by the wayside and it’s hoped that the Bluebird Festival will get blood pumping again. “COVID mucked us around so we haven’t done one for the last three years but we want to get it back on track again,” Mr Lee said. “We’ll sort of gauge what we do in the future by how it goes on April 13.” The festival promises heaps of fun, with free rides and a petting zoo for kids plus a fashion parade and plenty of food and market stalls. Most of the action will be at the Dumbleyung Town Hall, where festivalgoers can sample the local delicacy yabbie noodles. “We’ll have a big peeling day and cook up,” Mr Lee said. “There’s not much water around and there’s not many yabbies around, but we will have enough to do what we need to do.” In the evening, Narrogin band Drinks ‘n’ Tips will perform at the town hall, rocking out until 11pm. “It’ll be a night of dancing and good music,” Mr Lee said. “It’s a great hall, good acoustics as well.” Bluebird Festival kicks off at the town hall on April 13 at 3pm. Free camping with access to toilets and showers will be on offer to visitors at Stubbs Park in the centre of town.