By Dongyun Kwon
Two different events are returning to Healesville Coronation Park on the same day.
Healesville Homegrown Food Fair and Community Voices in the Park will be held on Sunday 6 April.
The first attempt to combine two events successfully made the day more enjoyable for all visitors last year.
Events organiser Ethne Pfeiffer said the music event enhanced the food fair.
“The stall holders and participants at the food fair thought it would be lovely to have some of the music going while the food fair was on,” she said.
“So we created that one-hour crossover last year, and that worked really well.”
Healesville Homegrown Food Fair began during the Covid-19 years, and this year will mark its fourth time.
Despite the change in issues in food security from accessibility during the pandemic period to affordability in the post-pandemic era, the fair still aims to promote home gardening, community gardens and local growers.
“Growing some of our own herbs, fruit or veggies has many benefits. It gives us access to healthy food, it’s enjoyable to share food with others, and it can give people a sense of control when external events are beyond their control,” Ms Pfeiffer said.
“During the lockdowns, people were getting concerned about access to food. We saw the disruptions to our food, when trucks couldn’t drive (into Healesville), so that was an opportunity for the community garden to say ‘One of the things we could do is grow some of our own food or support the small local producers.’
“Now people are feeling how the increase in the cost of living is impacting people.”
The day kicks off with Healesville Homegrown Food Fair at 11am which will have a Welcome to Country, a guided river walk, plant sales, free pizza and more.
Belgravia Leisure, Community Bank Healesville, Healesville Community Emergency Hub, Healesville Connect, Healesville CoRE, Healesville CFA, Healesville Living and Learning Centre, Healesville Environment Watch Inc will hold stalls onsite, which already have attended the fair multiple times.
HICCI will attend this year and Yarra Ranges Council’s Community Roadshow will return after a successful event last year.
Yarra Valley Estate co-owner Louise Ward will be the guest presenter of the event, speaking about her adventure of Edible Forest.
Ms Ward started the Edible Forest in 2016 with her team to grow seasonal vegetables with no ‘food miles’.
This idea expanded to building a garden that would grow into a forest planted with edible and medicinal plants.
“Louise’s focus on sustainability and working with nature is a perfect fit with this event,” the event organiser said.
From 12pm, Community Voices in the Park will add a festive vibe with music, poetry and storytelling performances.
“This is the fifth time the event is being run, and has been strongly supported by U3A Healesville each year,” Ms Pfeiffer said.
“(U3A Healesville’s) community choir and several of their singers and musicians will perform. Other singer-songwriters from the community will also perform.
“This year, poets from Healesville’s Poets Breakfast will be integrated into the program, adding new voices to this park event. The monthly Poets Breakfast is hosted by Andrew Darling and Laurence Webb.”
