"It hasn’t changed much over the years and showcases how the men and boys used to toil in the mines," she said.

"The men still have the skills to roof bolt and shovel but now it is mainly done with large equipment, so it could be only the Festival that is keeping our heritage and culture alive."

The main attraction of the festival is the world coal shovelling championships and the world roof bolting championships.

The singles coal shovelling world record is held by Wayne Miller at 26.75 seconds, and the doubles record was set in New Zealand at 14.8 seconds.

The fastest time set at Fingal was 29.5 seconds.

The roof bolting competition is based on what coal miners do underground to secure the roof of the mine.

The world record is at one minute and 54 seconds.

"We get a good crowd and this year the weather will be perfect so people will need to slip, slop, slap," Ms Webb said.

"We are providing a cabaret which starts at 7pm and goes til midnight with Dave Hawkins entertaining the crowd to end a brilliant day."

Other events taking place include the veterans cycling, children's entertainment, yard dog trials, wood chopping, and food stalls.