Back for its 11th year, the Rathmines Catalina Festival will have all eyes gazing upwards over the aptly named Catalina Bay on Sunday October 29. With a massive array of displays, events, markets and activities, the day ensures that family fun can be had by all.
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The main features of the day will be amazing displays of piloting bravery by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Roulettes aerobatics team and flybys from one of the remaining airborne Catalinas, ‘Felix the Black Cat’.
The festival aims to educate the community about the history of the Rathmines base and the veterans who served there. Officially closed on November 30, 1960, it is the only intact surviving Flying Boat Base left in Australia. At its peak it was the largest base in the southern hemisphere, home to 3,000 personnel, and has been recognised for heritage protection.
One of the world’s premier performers Paul Bennet, of Paul Bennet Airshows, will have visitors in awe with his breathtaking stunts and manoeuvres that have seen him awarded numerous aerobatic championships including the Australian Advanced and Unlimited titles.
Performing since 2005 his aircraft include gyrocopters, a CAC Wirraway, Rebel 300, L-39 Albatross, and a 1941 Grumman Avenger.
Other attractions consist of helicopter joy flights, seaplane and boat displays and the Catalina Car Show which will present awards to a variety of vintage and classic cars, motorcycles and modified vehicles.
There will be activities for the kids throughout the day, performances from a variety of bands, and market stalls with plenty to offer including local hand crafts, food and coffee stalls for a casual meal, along with beer and wine producers from across the Hunter region.
Proceeds from the day help fund a range of projects including restoring the PBY Catalina aircraft “Our Girl”, erecting a suitable hangar for the “Our Girl” static display, the development of an aviation/museum centre with the focus on Rathmines, the Catalina, Sunderland and other seaplanes, along with maintaining the Catalina Memorial and Memorial Walls.
Entry to the festival is $5 per person with children under 12 years of age admitted free. There will be limited free parking available on Stilling Street and Dorrington Road. Anyone wishing to submit an entry into the car show the fee is $5, bump in at 7am, with all proceeds going towards establishing the Catalina museum.
The Rathmines Catalina Festival runs from 9am to 4pm on Sunday, October 29 at Rathmines Park, Stilling Street. For more information visit www.rathminescatalinafestival.com or follow them on Facebook.