General News
1 April, 2026
Rupanyup hits high note
Rupanyup came alive with music on Sunday as the town hosted its 14th Annual DiRT MuSIC Festival, drawing performers and visitors from across the Wimmera and beyond for a full day of free entertainment.
One of the organisers, Lynette Teasdale, said the festival featured performances spread across several venues.
"It was 24 hours of performances through the day across the five venues, and a lot of things were on at the same time," she said.
This year's festival used the Village Green, Memorial Hall, Tesso's, St Philip's Church and the bowls club, where the event wrapped up in the evening.
Ms Teasdale estimated about 60 performers took part, though the exact number was hard to confirm due to the program's size.
She said the festival attracted performers and visitors from a wide area, including nearby towns and regional centres.
"We definitely have people from Warrack, Minyip, Murtoa, St Arnaud, Nhill, Stawell, Rupanyup, obviously, Horsham," Ms Teasdale said.
"There was one from Melbourne, and there were to be some from Ballarat, but they pulled out because of the fuel prices."
Because the festival is free and unticketed, organisers could only make a rough estimate of the crowd.
"Well, we don't know the exact number as everything was free," Ms Teasdale said.
"I guess around 300 attended the event across all the venues."
Ms Teasdale said the weather played a major role in the festival's success and helped create a strong atmosphere throughout the township.
"I'm really happy with how the event went, and the weather was superb," she said.
She said the event's appeal came not only from the music, but from the experience of walking through town and hearing performances from different locations.
"It's nice just walking around the street, and you can hear music from the street," she said.
"Just a lovely atmosphere."
She said the response from the crowd was overwhelmingly positive, especially by the end of the day at the bowls club.
"They just loved it," she said.
"We finished over the bowls club about 7.30 or 8 or something last night, and the vibe there was really positive."
The festival also gave local traders a welcome boost, with some businesses enjoying one of their busiest days.
"I was talking to the people in the coffee shop, and they had a roaring trade," Ms Teasdale said.
"We've got a food van over here, it was their busiest day too."
Ms Teasdale said the festival remained a special event for the community because it was free, relaxed and open to everyone.
She also thanked volunteers and community supporters for helping keep the festival running.
"Keep it up, as it's just a great day," Ms Teasdale said.
Read More: Rupanyup