2014 Strawberry Fair
The iconic Wallington Strawberry Fair is having its 30th birthday, and it this year the popular event will be bigger than ever with a amazing day planned. So put the 2nd of March in your calendar and head down to Wallington on the beautiful Bellarine Peninsular to celebrate.
Wallington is only 15 minutes from the centre of Geelong and this well managed event has plenty of parking and is one of the most enjoyable festivals on the Peninsula. Not only will visitors enjoy a tasty array of fresh strawberry bassed foods amongst the lovely and relaxed parkland of the Wallington Primary School they will be in for a great day of fun and entertainment.
The highlight the free entertaiment will be the legendary Chris Wilson who is a institution in Australian music, having played with some of Australia’s greatest bands including Paul Kelly, Crowded House and Mark Seymour. Chris has even performed with the likes of Elvis Costello, Budy Guy and Bob Dylan. Other entertainment will include the Ukelele Queen- Sarah Carolll, the Tiny Giants, Guy Perkins who is an up and coming musician from Bellarine Secondary College and talented local singer / songwriter Tayla Haigh.
The delicious rich strawberries are the highlight of the fair, Over the past few weeks expert jam-makers at the school have been hard at work producing their incredible homemade strawberry jam which will be on sale alongside the most delightful chocolate-dipped strawberries, gorgeous strawberries served with pavlova, juicy strawberries and pancakes, Devonshire teas and other gourmet delights. The wine tent will be stocked up with local wines plus some unique strawberry beverages including sparkling strawberry wine, strawberry ginger beer and strawberry cider.
An exciting new event will feature at this years Walington Strawberry Fair for the first time- called the strawberry ‘Bake-Off’. The competition is open to all with awards being handed out in a number of categories including most creative, best tasting and most decorative. Adults and kids are encouraged to enter – the only criteria being that the dish must include strawberries. Anyone interested in entering the inaugural Wallington Strawberry Fair Bake-Off should visit the school’s website or the Wallington Strawberry Fair facebook page for further details.
The panel of judges for the Bake-Off were all contributors to the the school’s very successful ‘Bellarine Cuisine’ cookbook, and include Loretta Hart (Van Loons), Nathan Veach (Bistro at Banks) and Bronte Paton (Saltbush Café). Initially produced in anticipation of celebrating the Fair’s 30th birthday, each print run the cookbook has sold out in a matter of weeks and it’s about to go into its third print run so that there will be plenty of cookbooks available for purchase at the Fair.
A popular tradditon of the Wallington Strawberry Fair returns, the famous Poo Lotto, here a duck does his stuff for great prizes and a lot of fun. Last year he didn’t last more than a few seconds, a great laugh for young and old.
The young will love the In addition to music there is plenty to enjoy for kids and adults alike, including face painting, pony rides, a giant auction, mobile animal farm, lucky dips, showbags, and the whole family will love the large variety of market stalls offering a interesting mix of goods and services.
The fun starts at 10:00 AM and finishes at 4:00 PM. The Wallington Primary School is on Wallington Road, that links Barwon Heads from the Queenscliff – Geelong Road.
Further details about the Fair and the cookbook can be found at: wallington-ps.vic.edu.au and you can like the Wallington Strawberry Fair on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wallingtonstrawberryfair
