Maria Lavalle is now having a well-deserved rest after her tireless efforts as the coordinator of Ulladulla's Blessing of the Fleet Festival.
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She said organising the Sunday, March 31 event was stressful.
"This [organising the festival] was the most stressful thing I have ever done and I can't believe that we pulled it off," she said
"I believe the festival was a great success this year."
"The biggest highlight for me was to see hundreds of people on the wharf watching the fishing fleet get blessed. Going around with Father Michael on the boat while he individually blessed each boat and talking to the fishermen and their families were other highlights."
Maria and her organising committee have received positive feedback on their efforts.
"Most of the feedback was how good the entertainment was and people loved 'The Touch of Italy' all day with the music," she said.
"The food trucks were amazing - the whole day's festival flowed and it was well organised."
People in their droves came out to take part in the event.
"There was a great crowd all day. The fireworks were amazing and they were the longest we have ever had," she said.
"People also loved the fact that it [the festival] was more about the fishermen and the tradition of the procession was great.'
The Princesses turning up in vintage cars was a different part of the event and made up for not having a parade.
"I was very nervous about how the day would go with all the negativity regarding no parade," she said.
"I was confident in what my vision for the event was supposed to look like and I was thrilled to see it come to life."
Plans for 2025 will soon be underway.
"The festival committee will have a meeting soon to see how we all think it went and also to see what worked and what did not. To be honest, I don't think that there was much that we needed to improve on," Maria said.
"Considering that we only had five months to prepare and with the money we had I think the committee did amazing things with what we had."
Maria, personally, needs a rest before deciding if she will take on the coordinator's role.
"I will need a couple of months to regroup and get my sleep back then I can think about if I will be coordinating again," she said.
People, in a good sign, have already asked to be on the committee for next year's festival.
Maria suggested some people did not think the festival would be such a success, but she and her committee proved them wrong.
