Warragamba/Silverdale & Surrounds Forum

does the wargaamba festival have anything that makes it unique? like a race or a competition?even a karioke competion would make me laugh! Dam fest seems pretty same as everything else to me with stalls and th rest it just seems like people turn up, let their kids play on the jumping castle and go home. they could even have a bily cart derby or big footy game or skill based game for interest.

DAM FEST IS MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER SHOW!!!

This year will see the 4th Annual Billy Cart Race, Miss Warradale Pageant and Dinner (held Saturday 18th October), Car and Bike Show.

This years attractions include Tug of War between emergency services, Helicopter display by National Parks and Wildlife Services. Display's from NRMA, SES, Rural Fire Service, NSW Fire Brigade, Girl Guides, Live music, great food and market stalls amusement rides for the whole family, Tandem parachute skydive landing at the football field, Red Baron Air display and much much more

We also have two special guest appearances. Shrek and another to be announced closer to the date

If you would like to offer some input to Dam Fest contact The Warragamba Silverdale Neighbourhood Centre on 47741273

what happened to the float parade that was a good way for the different businesses and groups to show there community spirit and the re-enactment in the park i am sure there could be a few more things brought back

I was wrong the fest has plenty going for it, now if i can only work out when each bit is happening Ill be there. I heard the festival is moved to the oval. This could make it easier for people to get to experince all of it. I hope warra pulls some nice weather on the day, looking forward to it.

Heidi will certainly agree with you dam fest seems to have plenty going for it judging by the flyer handed to me on election day. I think the organisers are doing a great job and look forward to attending the day to see how it all goes. I just have a few concerns that it would be great if the organisers could clarify for me.
1. Where is Dam Fest 08 being held - other than Warragamba Dam on the flyer there really isn't much detail about it's location. Last year it was held in the centre of town, is it there again this year? or is it over near the football oval?
2. I have heard from several people that they have volunteered to help, but haven't been contacted by the organisers as to how they can help. I have also heard of others offering to help and not getting a response from the organisers. Voluteers are the lifeblood of events such as these and it's through their hardwork that the event will be a success. It is understandable that at this stage the organisers are quite busy so have limited time on their hands, and they too are volunteers, but to ensure the success and prosperity of this event, maybe a 2 minute "touch base" phone call wouldn't hurt.
3. I have also heard of car/bike clubs ringing to come to the car and bike show and not getting a response. Again it is understandable that things are quite hectic for the organisers, but return contact is one of the best forms of advertising for events such as this. Maybe a few of the volunteers outside the organisers could spare some time to make sure all loose ends are tied up. It would be great to see a wide variety of car/bike clubs at this event and I'm sure most of them would be happy to come for a "run" for the day.
4. Advertising for the event. There was a few weeks ago a banner on the roundabout of Farnsworth and Silverdale which unfortunately got graffittied and was removed - I assume - for graffitti removal. This banner was in a great spot as all the cars and bikes coming from the Penrith side got to see that there was a BIG event coming up. Do the organisers plan to put this sign up over the next few weeks, in the lead up to the event to maybe just catch those last minutes maybes? Also have heard that there is a ad in the biker mag "Live to Ride" this is great exposure for the event, but it shouldn't be the only advertising. Perhaps a letterbox drop so the locals know. I have seen ads for this event in both the Wollondilly Advertiser and The Community in4mer and little bits in The Gazette and Word. May I be bold and suggest you contact the Wollondilly Trumpeter and The Penrith Press, and also maybe get the web admin of this site to update the information they have. I know if someone asks me about dam fest I refer them to the Warrragamba website for more information. Just my thoughts!
5. Application / Registration forms for the events. I know that these are available from the Neighbourhood Centre, but not everyone has the time in their day to make it to the centre before it closes, it's great to see some are available on the website but not all, could the organisers contact the web admin of this site and get the rest of these placed on for download. It may well be that the web admin hasn't uploaded these onto the site yet so a friendly poke wouldn't hurt - after all the website is very community orientated and I'm sure that a reminder would certainly result in the positive.

Please remember these are just my thoughts and impressions - I may be wrong about any or all of them, but if any members of the community or organisers of dam fest 08 can enlighten these issues, it would certainly make dam fest an even better event.

GREAT JOB BY ALL IN THE ORGANISING COMMITTEE all of whom are volunteering their time to do big things for these townships - I look forward to seeing a huge and successful event this year

Well resident08..... it appears that your questions are falling upon deaf ears.... I have some involvement with the community but only on the issues relating to traffic. I too would like to know the answers to these questions as I have informed my family of the DAMFEST and they have indicated that they may come along as they visited the dam some 55 years ago as a child attending family picnics and thought the nostalgia would be a buzz.

It's good to see the banner back up on the roundabout - it should bring more people to the Festival in 2 weeks. Good job organising committee and Neighbourhood centre - promoting Warragamba to more than locals - as I have seen a banner on the Northern Rd Glenmore Park roundabout.

a BIG pat on the back to those at the Neighbourhood Centre! Well Done!!!

resident08 and the Dam Fest 08 Organising Committee - it is great to see the banner back at the roundabout and the advertising campaign is obviously having an effect - dam fest 2008 is in the top 10 searches for the website, and we've only had 5 days so far this month - great effort by all. Unique visitors this month is over 1200, so there is a fair amount of traffic to the site at a good time!

Go Dam Fest 08! It looks like it's going to be a great event!

Now that DAM FEST 08 has been and gone, it would be great to hear from ALL of the community their thoughts and feelings about this event. I was unfortunately busy with other things on the day, but have heard from several people that it was a great event. I would be interested to see how the community felt, and I'm sure the organising committee would be more than happy to hear the feedback! Please remember this is a public forum and everyone is invited to say their piece, be it positive or negative, and as long as it is not offensive your opinion will not be removed. Everyone let's have a say and make our voices be heard and help those volunteers on the organising committee to make next year bigger and better.

Thankyou to the very paitient organisers who did as much as they could to get the late starters in the BILLY cart race!!it was the most fun ive had IN a while!
I think the day was pretty enjoybale as a volunteer there myself.

There was a few problems with the flow of information, not everyone got the msg about where the fest was being held, what day and what the expect. As someone who volunteered on the day I dont know why we didnt get alot of information about times and expectations for our duties, until a week or two days before, I cant say if that was because of the people within my organisation or damfest, I believe many people within my organisation didnt want to volunteer because of the lack of information flowing. The facilites for the volunteer were really well thought out and they provided a generous meal and many drinks for us .

IM glad I did get involved, the event was great.
I hope the damfest committee take the success they had on the day and keep it up as well as improve on the few things that didnt work. I hope they can put up the registration forms online next year too, either here, on their own website or on the council website.