It appears the Leeton economy has truly reaped the rewards of a successful 2024 SunRice Festival, with a number of business owners saying their establishments were in hot demand.
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Roly Zappacosta from the Leeton Centre Motel said all 22 rooms of his establishment were booked out from Friday to Monday.
"We had people from Melbourne, Sydney and all over, as well as phone calls coming in on Saturday from those hoping there might be a room left," Mr Zappacosta said.
"It was a real boost for the whole town," he said. "When you went down the main street there were people everywhere. The shops, the restaurants, the cafe's were all full.
"For us to have all our rooms booked across those four days was incredible," he said.
"The comment we got time and time again was why don't we have the festival every year. They absolutely loved it and said they couldn't wait to come back again."
Rocky Di Salvatore from Mick's Bakehouse said while it wasn't as busy as previous years, it was consistent.
"There were a lot of different faces coming through and I noted many Griffith people as well as caravans from out of town," he said.
"It was big and a great boost but not as big as the last festival; you could hardly move when that one was on.
"We did have a good amount of people coming by in the afternoon following the parade for a quiet coffee and a sit down," Mr Di Salvatore said.
"It's always a great boost for Leeton businesses and I think having the parade up the main street aids that. It's always a very important weekend for us."
Just a few doors down, Beverly Tyack from Timeless Treasures said she was 'flat out.'
"It was a very good day for trade," she said.
"I still had people coming in at 4pm and even though I was so busy I barely had a chance to chat with them, I noted many had come from far and wide.
"The thing I couldn't believe was the parade; I've never seen so many people on the main street. I think the businesses that had their doors open would have done well," she said.
"It was a wonderfully exciting day overall."
Over at the Leeton Heritage Motor Inn, relief manager June Mitchell was also fundamentally booked out over the weekend.
"We were at 91 per cent capacity on Friday and Sunday and fully booked on Saturday," she said.
"Many were returning guests from previous years who had booked in advance so I knew I was going to be full.
"I'm very pleased with how everything went. The Easter weekend is always very important for Leeton and does wonders for tourism."