It was a gorgeously sunny morning as I ambled leisurely through Warwick, QLD checking out the outrageously cheerful tree jumpers made for the annual Jumpers and Jazz Festival.
You really can’t help but smile as you see all the fanciful decorations and admire the incredible work that went into each tree.
The whole town feels happy and bright even as winter winds toss the branches and send stuffed chickens and handmade dolls bobbing and twirling.
Nearly everywhere you walk you’re serenaded by live jazz music performed my local musicians and bands that have traveled here from far and wide. It’s absolutely fantastic and makes even the most mundane of errands feel downright festive.
I can’t begin to fathom all the hours that have gone into knitting these tree jumpers (aka sweaters), but I’m so glad for all those clever folks who knuckled down and made them. They’re gorgeous.
When a live band started playing near the city park, I found an empty bench warmed beautifully by the sun and sat down to a scrumptious (and medical diet appropriate!) lunch: venison burger, green beans with lemon pepper, and potatoes with roasted garlic. I leaned back and closed my eyes feeling the glorious sun on my face as the music played and the wind sent the palm fronds dancing.
If you’re in Warwick this weekend, be sure to take in as many jazz performances as possible while you check out the lively markets in the park.
Do you have an annual festival that you like to go to?
I hope that the rain stays away from all the woolies. The last festival I attended was the whitebait festival in Marta (Lazio). Normally, we seem to be highly skilled at arriving in a town a week before or after the festival. 🙂
Me too, @ken_powell:disqus ! 🙂 I laughed at your “high skill” of missing festivals. I do the same thing!!! Grrr. I’m super curious about the whitebait festival though. 🙂
I thought I may have written a guest post on Cathy’s blog, but I can’t find it. I’m emailing you a composite photo slide from a talk I gave earlier this year.
Cute! We saw something like this in a park in Helsinki… the trees are so cute all covered
Oh fun, @inspiringtravellers:disqus 🙂 They are so cute and cheerful. 🙂
How delightful!
Yeah, it made my day, @lizposmyk:disqus 🙂
What a bright and cheerful way to start the day Krista. Thanks for sharing this event with us.
These are absolute trees of art! Look at the sky as a background…Just beautiful.
I have only been to Warwick once – never saw jumpers like this 🙂
Everything looks so pretty! I am definitely smiling.
Looks like a festive event. Have fun!
Hope things improve soon that you can get back to eating “everything”! But however it ends up, I know you’ll find delicious ways to move forward in the kitchen. Loved the walk-and-lemon-tart post – pics so beautiful!
Stay warm and feel better soon!
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Smiling too! Those jumpered trees remind me of Iceland’s Christmas curtains. I knew a friend who lived there for a time and told of how Icelanders passed the dark winter months by covering their windows in brightly colour curtains, and switched them with each and every holiday that came with the season. It such a delightful way to thumb one’s nose at the elements: take away the natural colour and we’ll just create our own. Take that, winter!