THE Deni Ute Muster Play On The Plains Festival will this year celebrate its 16th birthday when the gates open next Friday, October 3.
And to the organisers, the Muster is 'their baby'.
This is especially so for general manager, Kate Pitt, who saw its inception way back in 1999.
"It's a bloody big baby," Ms Pitt joked.
"It's a teenager now - it's our sweet 16th this year, then next year we get our P-plates - imagine our 21st."
But what isn't a joke is the incredible success story that sees the Deni Ute Muster pump millions of dollars into the NSW economy.
In 2012 the economic analysis revealed the festival generated more than $8 million of spending at Deniliquin and put an estimated $10.3m into the NSW economy as a whole.
"We do hear incredible statistics that places like Jerilderie (NSW) sold 4000 egg-and-bacon rolls for the Ute Muster weekend last year," she said.
But it is not just the NSW economy that benefits from the muster.
Businesses such as petrol stations, roadhouses, supermarkets, cafes and pubs from as far away as Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland benefit from the thousands of revellers who need to refuel and restock supplies along the way to and back from Deniliquin each year.
Not to mention the many Tasmanians who drive their utes aboard Spirit Of Tasmania for the trip across Bass Strait.
The one thing 'Deni' has had to juggle each year is the music line-up.
Traditionally it has been country-themed but over the past 10 years pop and rock acts have made their way onto the stages to suit the wider range of people that the festival attracts.
Along with US country stars Gary Allan and The Mavericks the event will this year see Aussie rock legend Jimmy Barnes return to the stage, along with Aussie great rock band Spiderbait and new Australian sensation Sheppard, riding on the wave of the hit "Geronimo".
But does that disappoint a country crowd?
"We try to please a broad range (of people)," marketing manager Erica Laing said.
"We are very much a family-friendly event and cater for the country guys as well so we like to have a broad range.
"This year I think we have achieved that.
"We have the country artists - Troy (Cassar-Daley) and Adam (Harvey), Morgan Evans, Sunny Cowgirls - so I think we have done well to cater for all needs."
Ms Pitt said country would always be at the core of the event.
Research conducted by Destination NSW recorded that 83 per cent of people surveyed at last year's event said they would return this year.
It would be hard to think the original committee members who served way back in 1999 could have envisaged the success 'Deni' would go on to become.
Not so for Ms Pitt.
"Certainly, being there for the very first year we knew we had created something incredibly special," she said.
"Back in 1999 it took five months to put it together, and when we had 2839 utes mustering on the flattest plains on Earth for this thing called the Deni World Record Ute Muster for its very first year, we knew we were on to something special."
This year's event will feature plenty of family entertainment with Mack the Transporter, the JCB Dancing Diggers, the GT V8 backhoe, a bullride spectacular, the Holden Grunt Off, whipcracking championships and loads more - but make no mistake: the emphasis is still on breaking the world record set in 2010 of 10,152 utes in one place.
"The core of the event is our ute muster," Ms Pitt said.
"And second to that is our blue singlet muster.
"It's just a way that so many people can participate in a world record."
