ABOUT 2200 people filed through the gates of Morisset High School - and it wasn't even a school day.
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Morisset Rotary Club staged the inaugural Time Out festival at the school on Sunday, and the locals were impressed.
The festival encouraged people to take time out from their busy lives and to explore and savour the things that improve their physical and emotional health.
Rotarian Susan Shing said the event was very well received.
"Overall we received very positive, encouraging feedback and support from attendees and we felt the day was a real success, especially in bringing the community together and offering something rather unique," Ms Shing said.
"We really couldn't have done it without the generosity and support of Morisset High School, everyone who donated their time - the performers, musicians, workshop facilitators, and volunteers - and the businesses and individuals who donated prizes and sponsored us by discounting their fees."
The festival provided a platform to showcase the talents of local artists and musicians, crafters, producers and community and service groups.
It offered workshops in everything from ceramics, drawing and macrame to photography, sign language and ukulele playing.
There was live music, dancing, a fitness hub, yoga, drumming, virtual reality gaming and cosplay from local steampunk and medieval live action role players.
And plenty of rides, games and hands-on activities for children.
Ms Shing said the fitness hub proved very popular.
"We put nearly 100 people through the physical challenge," she said.
"For six hours non-stop we had people queuing up to compete."
Prizes for the top three participants in each category were donated by Southern Cross Fitness, Central Coast Boxing Gym, and Beast Mode.
Festival goers were asked to make a gold coin donation when they entered the school, and that was a hit.
The entry fee was one of several topics that Rotarians surveyed festival-goers about.
"When asked if the event was value for money more than 99 per cent of those asked said yes," Ms Shing said.
The survey revealed there was lots of things to like about the festival. They included the variety of things on offer, the interactivity of the workshops, the medieval and steampunk displays, and the opportunity to spend time having fun with family and friends, the survey respondents said.
When Rotarians asked if locals would recommend that family and friends attend the event next year, they got a 100 per cent 'yes' response.
Ms Shing said the feedback also provided some suggestions for how to improve the festival. Key suggestions included consolidating the layout of the festival (it was too spread out), providing more shade for the outdoor activities, and more stalls.
"We covered our costs and came out with a good positive cash flow position," Ms Shing said.
"That was a great result considering the quality of the activities, workshops and performances we had on offer for a very small ( gold coin) entry fee.
