The YADMA Harmony Gala Dinner is all about bringing together cultures, cuisines, and performances in a joyful celebration of harmony. Photo: Hilltops Off The Beaten Track Art & Cultural Trail/Facebook.
As March sweeps into the Hilltops region, it brings a fortnight of colour, creativity and connection with the increasingly popular Off the Beaten Track Art & Cultural Trail.
Running from 14 to 29 March, the trail draws visitors to Young, Boorowa, Harden–Murrumburrah and surrounding villages to celebrate the region’s artistic talent across three weekends and two weeks.
With 64 scheduled experiences, the trail invites locals and visitors to step beyond galleries into studios, community halls, wineries and open-air spaces to see, hear and even make art.
Excitement begins before the official opening, with Lights, Camera, Hilltops at Southern Cross Cinema and Arts Complex in Young on Friday 13 March.
The evening features the premiere of Tomorrow’s Future Echoes, a documentary highlighting three young Hilltops artists chasing their dreams. Upstairs, the Artistic Aspirations Youth Showcase presents painting, sculpture, digital art, mixed media, product design and architectural models by artists aged 12 to 24 from across the region.
That same evening, Ballinaclash Cellar Door hosts the Hilltops Regional Theatre Company’s lively play The Outback Debutante Ball, also to be staged at Murringo Hall on 21 March, offering theatre in authentic country settings.
A lively scene from The Outback Debutante Ball, part of the Hilltops Arts Trail, where theatre brings country stories to life. Photo: Hilltops Off the Beaten Track Art and Cultural Trail/Facebook.
When the trail officially opens on 14 March, the variety of experiences is vast.
Around Young alone, 31 events are planned, including a multicultural gala, markets, music and museums.
The Young Museum provides insight into the region’s past and present through artifacts, heritage treasures and community artworks, while the Young Family History Group invites visitors to explore their own connections to local history.
The Village School Collaborative Art Exhibition at Young Town Hall showcases young talent and local pride and the Burrangong Gallery presents photography, pyrography and porcelain, where visitors can meet artists and see how the landscape inspires their work.
Nearby, the Young Camera Club Open House captures quiet and striking moments of daily life, while Kevin’s Quirky Kerbside Sculptures return to Berthong Street for visitors to enjoy.
From 18 March, the 18th Annual Lambing Flat Sculpture Wood and Big Art Exhibition displays large-scale works that reflect ambition and tradition.
On 23 March, Music among the Masterpieces features the Young Town Band performing amid local artworks. The Young Regional Conservatorium presents staff and student duets at Southern Cross Cinema on 27 March, while singer-songwriter Harrison John performs at Grove Estate on 22 March.
Workshops throughout Young include small-group acrylic painting with Tracy Wetherell at 41 Brush Strokes and dancing for mobility sessions.
Exhibitions extend to Grove Estate, Ballinaclash, Barwang Cellar Door, Forever Young Gallery, Wombat Cottage Cafe, and Murringo Gallery, while Dianne Goodman offers watercolour workshops at Murringo.
Visitors can also explore the Taubman & Webb Trading Post, a tribute to bushman and whip maker Syd Bayliss, while the Patterns & Personalities exhibition at Murringo Barracks explores identity through design.
Catherine Olofsen and Sue Dunn host nuno felting and wool spinning workshops at Wombat Cottage Cafe, while at Glencara Maze in Bulla Creek, artist Molly Costello leads a relaxed ceramic workshop.
Spinning a yarn is one thing, but how would you go spinning wool? Photo: Hilltops Off the Beaten Track Art and Cultural Trail/Facebook.
Heading south to Harden–Murrumburrah, 19 events are planned.
Hidden Harden showcases works by local artists, including those living with disability, mental health challenges, homelessness or illness.
Exhibitions feature local artwork, pottery, photography and quilts, while live performances such as March Into Music – A Musical Prelude to the Arts Trail and the Hilltops Choir at Ross Memorial Church bring music and theatre into halls and open spaces.
The Harden-Murrumburrah Historical Society Museum and Step into History exhibition reveal the stories that shaped generations and the Harden Makers Markets combine art, craft and local produce.
Workshops include drawing, painting, pastel, watercolour, sculpting with Carl and Kim Valerius, two-part pottery sessions with Fernanda Parodi Costa and en plein air experiences.
Galong joins the trail for the first time, featuring a captivating outdoor tree installation created by local artists and community groups that weaves together the town’s history and creative spirit.
In Boorowa, history and hands-on experiences combine.
The Step into Boorowa’s History exhibition is housed in the historic George Patterson Store, a rare pise building dating to 1882.
Visitors can join the Boorowa History Walking Tour on 29 March, or participate in interactive craft experiences such as Birds, Bees and Me and Colours and Curiosity, a wellbeing-focused art workshop led by local artist Ang Hart.
Ang also opens her studio to visitors, while Leonie Bell presents local crafts in the Magistrates Tea Room.
Every Object Tells a Story showcases prints and drawings by Denise Scholz-Wulfing and Kirsten Griffiths, who also lead a drawing workshop at the Boorowa Museum.
Artworks by Ang Hart and Karen Mitchell, along with locally made jams, sauces and crafts, are on display at Boorowa Bakery.
The Boorowa Rotary Art Exhibition and Sale highlights printmakers, watercolourists and sculptors and the Boorowa Rotary Markets at Old Courthouse Park pair art with local produce and handmade goods, making the town a hub of creativity.
Throughout the trail a pop-up exhibition, Tiny Art by Kirrily Vanderfield, adds another surprise, while family-friendly experiences include Wombat Bush Poetry & Australian Film and Rediscover the Magic of Cinema.
The trail concludes with It’s a Wrap, where artists, participants and audiences come together to reflect on two weeks of exhibitions, workshops, performances and community engagement.
The festival runs from 14 until 29 March. For further details and bookings visit the Hilltops Off the Beaten Track website.
Original Article published by Edwina Mason on About Regional.
