carnivals-and-festivals

Medieval Fayre in Blacktown attracts thousands wanting to step back in time

The Medieval Fayre at Blacktown kicked off today and saw a village come to life with lords and ladies, knights in full armour, jesters, scary hunchbacks and a jousting competition.

Jousters from Australia, Germany and the US took to their horses to compete for the prestigious title.

Darrell Bossley, a retired blacksmith, calls himself an "apprentice" and said the full-body armour makes jousting just as hard as it looks.

"The best thing about armour is taking it off," he said.

Loxton Mardi Gras, Australia's oldest, celebrates its 60th year

That makes it one of the longest-running festivals in Australia and possibly the oldest festival in South Australia.

The Loxton Mardi Gras will be held this weekend and while "Mardi Gras" has become synonymous with the LGBTQI community, organisers of the Loxton festival hold firmly to the religious meaning behind the name.

"Mardi means Tuesday and Gras means grand," said one of the festival's organisers, Peter Magarey.

"It's a family religious festival to eat up big before the austerity of Lent."

Cygnet Folk Festival kicks on for 35th year, leaving town with no room to swing a banjo

Online ticket sales for this year's Cygnet Folk Festival have been the best ever, according to organisers.

"It's grown from a very small community event to gaining, I suppose, a very lovely reputation amongst performers and festival-goers," said festival programmer Erin Collins.

The town's population of about 1500 usually quadruples over the weekend of the festival, and this year 115 local, interstate and international acts will be on show.

CC Thornley is a musician who moved to Tasmania to study banjo at the Hobart Conservatorium.