One of the organisers, Mark Ettridge, yesterday told the Times he was extremely pleased with the way things had gone.

"All in all we're pretty happy with the way it went," he said.

The Big Free Day was organised as part of local Youth Week activities with funding provided by Shoalhaven City Council and the Department of Community Services as well as the youth centre itself.

The aim had been to attract as many families possible with free entertainment, including live music.

While the headline act, Moroccan Holiday, was forced to withdraw at the last minute because of an injury to the bands drummer, families still made the most of Saturday's sensational weather for a day in the park.

The Sumo wrestling and rock climbing wall proved particularly popular - as did the free tattoos and fairy floss.

Mr Ettridge said the youth centre had received extremely positive feedback from the community about the wide range of events available on the day.

He said organisers would now hold a debriefing session with council and the city's two other youth centres to talk about what worked and what didn't, but added that the Ulladulla Youth Centre would be keen to pursue funding to hold a similar event in Ulladulla every year - not necessarily during Youth Week.

Mr Ettridge said the only disappointment was the absence of older teenagers on the day.

He said while the event had obviously been popular with families and younger children, teenagers aged 14 and up seemed to have stayed away.

He said it was often difficult to engage older kids but he thought the offer of free live music would have been enough.

Mr Ettridge praised the efforts of young people involved with the Ulladulla Youth Centre who spend the day blowing up balloons, painting faces and colouring hair.

He said they were "great ambassadors for young people" and had contributed in no small way to the event's success.

Mr Ettridge said events such as the Big Free Day Out were important in terms of breaking down the myth that youth centres were places for troubled youth.

He said the Ulladulla Youth Centre was a great starting place for young people wanting to get actively involved in the local community.