Hill End will come to life on Friday, as The End Festival celebrates the village’s arts, culture and heritage.
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Held from April 21 to 23, the festival will have something for everyone in the former mining town.
Music and cabaret will be held in the Royal Hall, while there will be bluegrass, folk and country music on The Golden Age Stage featuring All Our Exes Live In Texas, the Morrisons, the Green Mohair Suits and the Digging For Gold Talent Quest.
There will also be opportunities to taste craft beer and wine from the Bathurst, Orange and Mudgee areas, paired with regional food in the Golden Age Garden.
Rare trades demonstrations, workshops and sales from craftspeople will be on display, as they work with traditional techniques in wood and leather.
With regional produce and artisan products from local designers and artists, The End Village Market will have something for everyone.
There will also be site-specific art installations throughout Hill End.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will also be running village tours, evening ghost tours and other private tours throughout the historic mining town.
One drawcard of the festival is Jeff Donne, also known as the Spoonsmith, who is only a handful of Australians making a living from the old craft of carving wooden spoons from a tree.
The spoonmaker, from Pambula, said people coming to the festival will get a chance to try their hand at making spoons the old way, with a range of workshops running all weekend.
“It’s a great opportunity to see this near forgotten craft at work,” he said.
“For the past four years, I’ve been travelling much of Australia teaching people how to craft their own wooden spoon straight from a tree.
“I use just a range of simple hand tools, like a small hatchet and knife, to make a functional and beautiful piece of sculpture pop out from the log.”
Hill End is a village with a population of just over 100 people.
The village is accessible by either Turondale, Sofala or Limekilns Road, which all connect themselves to Hill End Road.