The region may have copped a bucketing of rain on Saturday morning but it didn't stop the enthusiasm, the dancing and the colour of Kurri Kurri's Nostalgia Festival.
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In fact the 16th annual event, held over the weekend, was an outstanding success and has been heralded as the best festival yet.
Organisers reported more than 30,000 people in the main street over the two days.
Towns With Heart (the group which organises Nostalgia) Vice President Marj Wotherspoon OAM said she has been helping organise the event since it's inception and has never seen as good a crowd as she did on Sunday.
"We had to alter a few things regarding the set up because of the rain on Saturday but we ended up with the biggest crowd I've ever seen," Marj said.
"We weren't panicking about the wet weather because we are blessed here - we haven't had a wet festival yet."
The town which has taken a few hard knocks over the years particularly with the closure of its main employer Hydro Aluminium in November 2012, became a sea of colour, smiles and joy over the two days.
"In Kurri we're resilient - we know how to bounce back and at a time when there's really nothing around but bad news we know how to lift everyone's spirits," Marj said.
She said walking through Kurri on Saturday and Sunday was like taking a step back in time and if you didn't dress up you certainly were the odd ones out.
"There were more people dressed up in vintage clothing than were in normal clothes. It was wonderful - the bags, shoes and hairdos, it was like a step back in time," she said.
"Everyone was happy. There was a lot of money coming into the local economy - businesses did a wonderful trade and every event held across town over the weekend like the national burlesque finals at Weston Workers Club, all sold out."
Marj said while the majority of visitors were from the local Hunter region, other visitors came from Queensland, Victoria and Sydney. "Some of these are people are regulars who come back each year," she said. "This event has a magnificent reputation."
Marj thanked the event's many volunteers.
"No one gets paid to do this job and without all the help from those many wonderful volunteers this wouldn't be the success it has become," she said.
