Frock Up, Jazz Up, Come Up To The Blue Mountains Region For A Festival To Celebrate ‘The Roaring 20s…And All That Jazz

Blue Mountain 20's Jazz Festival

Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can.
F.Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby.

During February 2011 you could be forgiven for thinking the past was being repeated in the Blue Mountains region as it celebrates the inaugural ‘Roaring 20s…and all that Jazz!’ Festival, a month long programme of events harking back to the heyday period of the 1920s.

The 20s was a ‘roaring’ time in the region, as it was around the world. To holiday-makers and honeymooners, Katoomba was the holiday capital of the state. The motor car had revolutionised tourist activity and already there were some 270 plus holiday rental cottages. People spent the days touring the sights and promenading to put ‘roses’ in their cheeks in the mountain air; souvenir crockery with images of the Three Sisters and Leura Cascades was a popular purchase and in the evenings visitors danced, roller-skated and attended the latest moving pictures. The village of Lithgow was enjoying the prosperity of its industrial heyday and many visitors were already travelling to Jenolan Caves, near the township of Oberon to discover the delights of the underground.

Flamboyant 1920s fads around the world included flagpole sitting, goldfish swallowing, dance marathons and crossword puzzles. Whilst none of these will be in the calendar during The Roaring 20s…and all that Jazz! Festival, visitors who frock up, jazz up and come up to visit will be able to re-live this golden era.

If you want to do the dances of the era – the Black Bottom and the Shimmy-or even the dances of today, book your tickets for the 1920s Ball in the Grand Dining Room of The Carrington Hotel (Saturday 12 February).

Gather in the grounds of Everglades Historic House and Garden, Leura on 14 February for a Great Gatsby themed Valentine’s Day Lunch.

You can even re-live the 1927 royal visit of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) to Jenolan Caves. On Saturday 5 February there will be special cave tours commemorating the visit, a vintage car display and a royal dinner in the evening at Chisolm’s Restaurant in Caves House where the original Royal menu will be recreated including Lobster Neuberg, Chicken Chartrouse and Wild Duck in Brigarade Sauce.

Or sit at the flicks at the 1920s movie festival being screened at Lithgow Valley Community Cinema (Friday 25 and Saturday 26 February). Movies showing include ‘Buddy’ – the true story of Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Lintz, an eccentric socialite in the 1920s likened to a modern day Noah, and her relationship with Buddy the gorilla.

And what would a 1920s festival be without the invitation to ‘frock up’ for this was a decade of fashion innovation? Dress hem lines rose, women started to wear their hair short and men started to dress in ‘sportswear’.

Visitors to the region in February who don attire from the era and attend any of the festival events and submit a photo will be in the running for a best costume prize, judged by Charlotte Smith, the curator of the famous Darnell Collection, considered the largest private vintage clothing collection in Australia.

The 1920s was certainly a high time in the Blue Mountains region. Come and re-create the past during the month of February 2011 at The Roaring 20s…and all that Jazz! Festival.