Thousands flocked to the Tocal Agricultural College grounds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the annual festival.

Although official attendance figures haven’t been finalised yet, Field Days spokeswoman Wendy Franklin said the crowd that attended on Saturday was the largest she had seen in the seven years since she had become involved in the event.

A little rain kept attendance down slightly on Sunday morning, but visitor numbers picked up again in the afternoon as the festival drew to a close.

Ms Franklin said the strong numbers showed that Field Days was becoming a renowned family event – not simply a farm machinery trade expo. 

“Gradually we’re seeing people from further afield, such as Newcastle, looking at the event for what it is,” she told the Mercury today.

“[It’s] such a short drive for a great day out in the country.”

The fact that Field Days attracted such a large attendance, only 12 months after the superstorm forced organisers to pull the pin on the event for the first time in its history, is testament to the hard work of everyone involved in putting the agricultural festival together.

It’s promising for the Maitland area that Tocal Field Days appears to be going from strength to strength.

A strong Tocal Field Days is good for Maitland’s economy.

Along with the region’s other major events, such as Groovin the Moo, Steamfest, Aroma, Bitter and Twisted and Taste, Field Days is doing its part to solidify the reputation of Maitland and surrounds as a place to go for some weekend fun, whether from the Greater Hunter or further afield.

The influx of people to the region during these event weekends holds promise for the city’s businesses. 

While here, many will want to go somewhere to shop, eat lunch or have a cup of coffee – all of which is money into the city’s economy and fills the pockets of hard working local business people.

Given the region’s recent history with high unemployment, particularly high youth unemployment, that can only be a good thing.