ORGANISERS reported strong crowds at the 49th annual Bright Autumn Festival gala parade on Saturday, despite it falling within a fortnight of the Easter long weekend.
Event organiser Helen Doyle said about 20,000 people visited the town on the weekend, but crowds were down on previous festivals.
    “Numbers were down on last year but not only are people not travelling as much, it was on the back of a huge Easter, so it was to be expected,” she said.
    “But there was still quite a lot of enthusiasm and the weather was kind to us, so those who did turn out were certainly entertained.”
    Young and old alike turned out for all the colour of the grand parade on Saturday, with this year’s theme being “The Good Life”.
    Sue Clarkson and Jo Botting, of Bright Alpine Health, got into the spirit with their float boasting a deck chair, beach umbrella and bottle of champagne.
    But the winner of the best overall float went to the Rotary Club of Bright.
    “They did a fantastic camping float complete with a barbecue and people fishing, all the good things to do up here,” Ms Doyle said.
    “No one in Bright knows the meaning of boredom, there’s just so many things to do.”     Wandiligong Primary School took out the best school float, Bright P-12 College the best youth float and Bright Brewery the best commercial float.
    The Alpine Cycling Club took out the award for the most humorous float.
    “The theme was The Good Life and they stopped and served coffee as they rode down the street,” Ms Doyle said.
    “They had the back of the tray set up as a restaurant with a coffee machine and the local GP acted as the waiter, so there was a lot of laughter for that.”
    An art auction yesterday also raised more than $1000 for prostate cancer research.
    Organisers are now turning their attention to the event’s 50th anniversary next year and are calling on volunteers to ensure the celebrations go off with a bang.
    “It will be a big milestone but it will also be a lot of work,” Ms Doyle said.
    The festival runs until Wednesday.