Healesville Sanctuary’s beautiful bushland setting transforms into a festive atmosphere for just one weekend of the year.
The local zoo is collaborating with 22 Yarra Valley wineries, breweries and distilleries, bringing their cellar doors on-site for the last weekend of this month.
Healesville Sanctuary events and tourism coordinator Irene Swensen said visitors will receive a cup to circulate among vendors and sample their products.
“We’ve also got non alcoholic options for people that might not like wine or beer, as well as food trucks, coffee, crepes, paella, different things to pair with your drinks,” she said.
“There’ll be a stage with live music as well. And a new thing this year is a silent disco for everyone to enjoy. It’s targeted at anyone, but I think the kids will definitely love that.
“Wurundjeri elder Murrundindi will open the main stage each day. He’ll have his didgeridoo and be doing some performances for about half an hour each morning from 10am to 10.30am, including Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony.”
Visitors will have exclusive access to roam around while tasting some of the best drops from local prestigious producers.
Giant tepees, festoon lighting, crackling bonfires and live acoustic music will provide the perfect atmosphere to enjoy in the fresh air.
Zine workshops run by Cora Zon will be there as well to add to the festive atmosphere for children near the silent disco area on Koala Picnic Lawn.
In its 13th year, the Wine and Wildlife is once again looking to contribute to not only the Healesville Sanctuary’s Australian Wildlife Health Centre’s work for wildlife and the resident animals, but also to the local tourism and economy.
“We partner with all the vendors in the Yarra Valley, so it’s exclusive to vendors that operate in the Yarra Valley. We don’t allow entries to come in from the broader Victorian region,” Ms Swensen said.
“It’s to focus on what we have here in the Yarra Valley. The vendors are able to come down, promote their products and sell their products and get to a new audience that they might not necessarily reach, as well as partnering with, where possible, local musicians, local food trucks, and just getting people involved.
“Portions of the money that we generate will go towards the wildlife hospital that we have.”
Healesville Sanctuary is also partnering with DrinkWise Australia to promote drinking responsibly while enjoying locally produced high-quality drinks.
Ms Swensen said the partnership will remind people to taste mindfully.
“You’re going to have little scratchies that you can monitor how many tastings you’ve had to encourage responsible driving and drinking, so that we’re not blurring the lines,” she said.
“Sometimes you might lose track of how many drinks you’ve had.”
Wine and Wildlife is a fully ticketed event, taking place on the weekend of 30 and 31 August.
Entry over these two days is with a paid event ticket only.
General admission and member scans will be unavailable on that weekend.
Zoos Victoria members have the chance to enter a raffle prize, valued at over $1200.
One lucky member will take home a prize pack including products donated by the wineries, breweries and distilleries, a 12-month membership and a double pass for a close-up animal experience (excludes Platypus Discovery).
Tickets are purchasable at the following website link: zoo.org.au/wineandwildlife
