BY DAN RYAN

After a weather driven setback drove organisers to take heed of SES advice and postpone the Christmas markets, their caution was well rewarded by a successful evening with visitors, townsfolk and nearby farmers descending on Canowindra for a balmy evening welcoming locals and tourists alike.

Canowindra Progress Association (CPA) president Tom Beath - who was curiously never seen the same space as Santa at the same time - told the Canowindra News that the markets were a great opportunity for people to meet in town, especially given the busy harvest period, "Some of the farmers and people from out of town haven't seen eachother for twelve months. It's great for the town, the local shops and for people to come together."

Mr Beath says numbers were similar to the previous year from his viewing, saying "We'll have figures later on, but last year we had about 2,300."

The Christmas cheer extended to fundraising events, with Sam Stenson and Simone Statham of Rosnay Organic Wines raising funds to help finish a school library in Caroline Bay, Vanuatu.

"It still hasn't got windows, doors or a roof. We were actually there on holidays and drew up a budget and funding agreement with the school principal." said Mr Stenson, who added that some of the structures of the school were originally built by the Australian Army.

"We were lucky to visit this place because one of our workers, Florence and her husband have been working at Rosnay for the last fifteen years. We basically said 'can we take you back to your village and see where you're from?' so we were really lucky. The seasonal worker programs here do help back home too."

Locals and their families were also basking in the friendly atmosphere, returning home to see her mum Jenny, Carolyn Daly says she loves what Canowindra has to offer. "I was born and raised here, it's like coming back to a different town. Mum's been here for what? seventy? eighty years. I've come home to see mum and friends and I love coming back."

Sitting at the pub taking a well earned break from recently moving house from Sydney, new Canowindra resident Maxine Shellhorn had her sister Dianne, and daughter Paige visiting. With a friend living nearby in Cudal, Maxine says it was refreshing to be in a town where people greeted eachother warmly.

"People back in Sydney think they're going to come here and there's not going to be a coffee shop. I don't feel at the moment that we're going to miss out. It's the best of both worlds."

The Canowindra Christmas markets featured over fifty stalls, performances by musicians and would not be possible without the hard work of volunteers.