Ironfest's 'Once Upon a Time' theme draws over 20,000 people

Ironfest was the nation's biggest fancy dress party for the weird and wonderful on April 27 and 28 as it celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Everywhere you looked and every corner you turned there was something to see and do, and while there was plenty of Steampunk, Victorian and Medieval style costumes to see, a lot of people got into this year's 'Once Upon a Time' theme.

Ironfest President Rich Evans said the theme was a known factor in contributing numbers to this year's event, with more than 20,000 people walking into the Kingdom of Ironfest.

"Numbers were up from last year, we are pretty happy with the attendance, Saturday was our biggest and busiest day overall with the parade, but we are still tallying up the ticket numbers while we are on clean up," he said.

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Mr Evans also said as part of the 20 years of Ironfest, people were let in for free after 4pm and overall he thought the festival was a huge success.

"There were so many people throughout the weekend, all enjoying themselves.

"Everyone also got dressed up and you could see the spark of creativity in costumes, and that's what Ironfest is about there is so much diversity," he said.

Mr Evans said Ironfest was a fairy tale and it was magical comparing it from when it it first started to where it was now.

"Seeing everyone come together and celebrate, it was amazing to see their loyalty to the festival," he said.

The theme for Ironfest 2020 was also announced as Gothic, and Mr Evans said they had been planning for three months already.

"Planning is under way but I won't let much out of the bag just yet, people can keep an eye out on our Facebook page and website for updates in the next few months," he said.

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