The Festival
For Sixty three years the Sunshine Festival has been a proud community event, showcasing all the Midwest has to offer
This years festival is to be held down at Geraldton's state of the art Multi Purpose Center, located on the pristine Foreshore.
There will be onstage entertainment starting from 10am, which will then pause for the Sunshine Festival Float Parade through the city centre, starting at 3pm.
We promise to bring you a vibrant celebration with an abundance of free events for all ages. Full of colour, music and dancing, this is a must see event. Whether you are local, visiting, or just love Geraldton, taking part in Geraldton's annual Sunshine Festival is a worthwhile experience.
The history of one of Australia's
oldest events, the SUNSHINE FESTIVAL...
In 1958, a group called the Geraldton Retail Traders' Association came up with the idea of holding a tomato festival in Geraldton...
...perhaps inspired by previous festivals such as the Wonthella Progress Association's Bazaar days and Spring Festival Parades in the early and mid 1950s.
The Geraldton Guardian took up the idea, publishing an editorial on 30 August 1958 commending these enterprising citizens on the concept. As the group's plans evolved, the name changed to the Sunshine Festival, no doubt to draw attention to the consistently sunny days in the region, and on 21 August 1959, the longest running regional festival in Western Australia was born.
2024 marks the 63rd anniversary of festival, a major milestone in anyone's language. Looking back, not much has changed since its inception. It is run by a group of volunteers with substantial support from the City, sponsors and businesses and there are events in this year's festival that have been present right from the start. One of these being the much loved, Sunshine Festival Float Parade. The Festival also presents many opportunities for the community to gather together and celebrate all that life has to offer in the Geraldton region.
Join us in celebrating the 63rd Geraldton Greenough Sunshine Festival on Sunday 29th of September for a day of activities for the whole family.