Last Saturday thousands of people stepped and danced into the heart of the Blue Mountains to experience the extraordinary joy of Katoomba's Winter Magic Festival. It is a vibrant one-day celebration like no other. As the winter solstice casts its spell on the shortest day of each year, the streets and spaces of Katoomba transform into a dazzling showcase of artistry, creativity, love and high energy. The community and visitors come together to celebrate the unique spirit found in our enchanting Blue Mountains. We heard a beautiful and uplifting Welcome to Country by Uncle David King, an acknowledgement of local creativity and the day's theme ,"Positively Weird", performed by our festival's creative director Vanessa Wright and local musician Nick Bryant. It was my honour to open the festival and thank all of the volunteers and our fabulous committee. From a whole range of stalls to the march up the main street, I joined our fabulous community in enjoying the colourful, happy and fun-filled day. It was my job to thank Transport for NSW, which provided the money. It was just brilliant.