After a washout first attempt, Sunday's sunny weather more than made up for take two of the annual Bushy Park Festival.
Originally scheduled to take place in January, heavy rain cancelled the first festival, but this time families came armed with sunblock rather than umbrellas - to the relief of Bushy
Park leaseholders Theo and Viv Perry.
Mr Perry said he was out at the front gates of the park before 5.30 the morning of the festival, and watched the sun come up.
"I saw the sunrise and thought, 'You beauty!"'
Festival goers came in droves to the park, many with young families, to see the sights and take part in the festival activities.
A new event this year, Helipro helicopter rides, proved popular, with many excited children, and somewhat nervous parents, convinced to get in for a bird's eye view of the park.
Other attractions included Myrtus Star the clown, who was busy giving out "free clown noses", by dabbing some red paint on unsuspecting festival-goers.
"You should have heard this one little boy," he said "But Dad, it's free!". He couldn't say no after that," she laughed.
Mr Perry said it could have been a "virtual disaster" for the Bushy Park Trust if the festival - now in its 11th year - hadn't received so much support from stall holders and the community, who cut prices, donated their services, and waived their fees.
They would be thinking, in the weeks to come, about how they could acknowledge the support they had received, he said.
This year's festival was particularly important because it was an opportunity to advertise their need for volunteers and promote plans for a boardwalk through the Bushy Park wetlands.
The boardwalk would cover half a kilometre of wetlands, and would allow greater ease of access for people who found the forest tracks difficult to navigate.
To raise the half-million dollars needed for the project, the Bushy Park Trust was selling planks for the boardwalk at $50 each.
Each donor gets their name engraved on their plank.
The proceeds from the festival go toward Bushy Park's maintenance.
