By JESSE GRAHAM
THE Yarra Valley Grape Grazing Festival had its big return last weekend, with thousands of people pouring into the town for the first event in five years.
The festival ran over the weekend from 14-16 February across the valley from Dixons Creek through to Seville and featured more than 60 events.
Thousands of people poured into the area to sample the wares of local producers and wineries for the festival, which is back after a five-year absence – the last festival was in 2009.
Special events were held all around the valley, with the community coming out to a special breakfast along Healesville’s main street to celebrate the festival.
Special deals, free coffee for Grape Grazing pass-holders and even visiting creatures from Healesville Sanctuary were some of the attractions to the breakfast event.
Meanwhile, music was rife throughout the festival – wineries hosted live bands while visitors had a leisurely afternoon graze over produce, while Rochford Winery had musical heavyweight Jimmy Barnes perform.
The performance was for a special A Day on the Green event to coincide with the festival, and thousands attended the concert alone.
Wine Yarra Valley CEO Richard Howden said that figures have yet to be finalised, but organisers were expecting about 10,000 people in the lead up to the festival.
He said the feedback from the events thus far has been positive, and the events he visited seemed to be popular with festival-goers.
“We got plenty of people into the valley,” he said.
“The weather held out – it wasn’t 40 degrees, so that was great.
“All-in-all, I think it was a really good comeback – something really solid to build on for future years.”
Mr Howden said that next year’s Grape Grazing Festival was already being organised and encouraged residents to keep an eye on the website closer to the date.
For more information on events and for updates on next year’s festival, visit www.grapegrazing.com.au.
For more pictures from events on the weekend, visit mail.starcommunity.com.au.
