Gundaroo, just north of Canberra, is one of those country towns that comes together in times of need and just gets things done.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Gundaroo Music Festival on Saturday started as the dream of Scott Windsor, a local drummer who also owned the Fyshwick smash repair business, Fine Finish Automotive.
Mr Windsor died in April at the age of 47 of one of the most cruel of conditions, motor neurone disease, his mind unaffected but his body wasting away less than three years after being diagnosed.
He was able to see the first two festivals the first still standing, the second in a wheelchair and that made him happy, friend Scott Harding said.
"He was a fantastic guy, very generous. He wanted the festival to raise awareness into Motor Neurone Disease. And his attitude was always a positive one," Mr Harding said.
"The festival gave him that positivity and something to live for and strive for and be part of."
Initially the townspeople wanted the festival to help support Mr Windsor and his family but he was adamant all the funds should go to research for a cure for Motor Neurone Disease, which causes nerve cells controlling the muscles to progressively die.
Last year's event the second raised $50,000 for research into MND.
Saturday's big event has 12 hours' of entertainment including performances by Mental as Anything, Angry Anderson with the James Southwell band and local artists who all played with Mr Windsor, topped off by fireworks.
Mr Windsor and his wife Sue would have celebrated 18 years of marriage next Sunday, October 18, the proud parents of Jess, now 14, and Emma, eight.
Mrs Windsor said it was actually through her husband's drumming that the MND was first detected.
"He missed a beat and he didn't usually do that," she said.
"He was getting very fatigued and he just thought it was the stress of owning his own business or getting older. He had fasciculations in his arm, which is like constant twitching, which was the first definite sign that something was wrong."
Mr Windsor gradually lost his ability to move and even breathe.
"His was a fairly rapid decline, really," his wife said.
"He was perfectly fine when he was diagnosed but then he started losing strength everywhere. Then he started to lose control of the muscles in his neck and that's when he really went downhill.
"He had a lot of pain with it. It's a very cruel disease. It's one of the worst. You basically just watch yourself die and your body break down. In the end, your breathing muscles become compromised and it becomes very difficult to breathe, which is terrifying."
Mrs Windsor said her husband was thrilled to see a music festival in Gundaroo, a tight-knit community that celebrates and looks after its own.
"It was great that he got to see that happen because he absolutely loved music and motorbikes!"
The festival is on from 10am to 10pm today . Tickets will be available at the gate. There will be children's entertainment, food, wine, art, a show and shine and fireworks at 8.30pm. Full program and ticket details are at gundaroomusicfestival.com/