EVANDALE will once again return to a bygone era, when it hosts and celebrates the 40th annual Evandale Village Fair and National Penny Farthing Championships, on Saturday, February 18.
Penny farthing enthusiasts will travel to Evandale for their chance to vie for a series of races held on a village centre circuit, while spectators will be treated to the reinstated village fair, filled with a range of music, entertainment and market stalls.
The village’s well-preserved streetscapes provide the perfect backdrop and period costumes are highly encouraged.
The road race from Evandale to Clarendon House, Nile, on Sunday, February 19, is the finale of the 2023 National Penny Farthing Championships and supplements the races around Evandale the previous day.
Event committee president and Evandale resident Kate Rowe said the championships were recognised internationally as the world’s largest annual event devoted to racing antique bicycles.
“We have riders who have registered from all over Australia, with a few expected to travel from overseas this year,” she said.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the organising committee needed to cancel the 2021 event, and run the 2022 event without the village fair and with limited spectators. However, the Evandale community has banded together to ensure the event’s 40th anniversary is properly celebrated and returns the spectacle to its pre-COVID glory.