Published on Tuesday, 14 January 2025 at 12:06:02 PM
Geraldton Greenough Sunshine Festival
The Geraldton Greenough Sunshine Festival is an annual highlight in our city and sees around five thousand attendees across a diverse range of events. The first festival was held in 1959, and 2024 has seen its 63rd anniversary. A major element of the festivities is the Sunshine Festival Float Parade which travels through the city centre. Several events that continue today have been in existence since the first festival. The event is organised by volunteers with substantial support from the City of Geraldton, and is full of vibrant colour, food, music and dancing.
The festival was born when the Geraldton Retail Traders Association came up with the idea of holding a tomato festival in 1958. The Geraldton Guardian newspaper ran with the idea and published an editorial praising the enterprising concept. As the plans for the event evolved, the name Sunshine Festival emerged, and one of the longest running regional festivals in Western Australia was born.
Ben Marsh
Photo Caption: Sunshine Festival Princess Float c. 1999 (P 13883), Courtesy of Geraldton Regional Library.
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