THE 2019 Stawell Gift went off without a hitch, organisers said.
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Stawell Athletics Club president Darryle Harrison said even the weather seemed to be onside for the three day event, which ran from Easter Saturday and finished at the end of Easter Monday.
"It's gone fantastic really," Mr Harrison said.
"The weather has been very kind to us. I know we're desperate for rain here but if we can just hold off ... I'll be very thankful."
Mr Harrison said that preparation had gone smoothly as well, with a strong team effort pulling everything together.
"We had a good week last week of organising the event and getting everything prepared and ready," Mr Harrison said.
"The Northern Grampians Shire assisted us on Monday getting all of the marquees up on the hill, and also the Ladies' Day Fashions - that was a big help to us and allowed us more time to deal with other things that have to be done.
"I think the committee has been well prepared and everything has gone to plan."
"We had good numbers attend. The Easter Hunt went down very well. I think we had about 300 or 400 children involved in that.
"The Ladies' Day Fashion, there was 24 or something like that and they were all well dressed and it was quite good, and the Tweens was a new entry this year and that went very well too.
Mr Harrison said entrant numbers were comparable with the previous year, but it was too early to determine spectator numbers.
"I think Saturday may have been down slightly but family day passes and all of that type of thing was very well taken up," he said.
Police were very pleased with crowd behaviour as well.
Officers were present on the grounds throughout the three day event, and Senior Sergeant Tevis Wright, of Stawell, said there had been no incidents.
"We've been really happy with how it has gone," he said.
"I don't think there have been ts from a public order point of view."
Sergeant Wright said the same comments applied to the other big events which took place over the long weekend, including the rodeo in Great Western and the Stawell Cup.
"Local businesses and hotels do really good trade and included in that is the opportunity for increased alcohol but everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves responsibly," he said.
Rather than focus on public order issues, Sergeant Wright said police attention had been on the roads, with four serious collisions across the region on Good Friday.
"Friday on the roads was horrible and it put a damper on things," he said.
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