Five ways to Eat, Drink and Experience Bungendore Harvest Festival
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Get to know the people who grow your food and taste some of what the region has to offer at the Bungendore Harvest Festival.
The Bungendore Harvest Festival is an annual celebration of community and food that brings together the region’s farmers, producers and eaters for a delicious few days of activities—and it’s happening this weekend from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 April.
Run by Southern Harvest Association—a farmer-led member organisation that aims to foster the growth and availability of local produce within the region—this year’s festival focusses on ‘heritage’, covering everything from local food and farming history, heritage varieties of vegetables and breeds of livestock, and the diverse cultural heritages of the many people who call this region home.
Here are five ways to eat, drink and experience Bungendore Harvest Festival.
Learn about the land from its traditional owners
The festival begins with a launch event on Friday evening at AWOL: Another Way of Living in Wamboin. Ngunnawal man Bradley Mapiva Brown will lead a cultural walk and teach participants more about the land that sustains us.
Discover local food and the people who grow it
The Festival Market at the Bungendore Anglican church from 10 am–2 pm on Saturday 9 April is a great opportunity to learn more about how to access locally grown food, and to meet the people who are growing it.
Local stallholders will be showcasing everything the region has to offer: organic vegetables, fine wines, pasture-raised meat, olive oil, nuts, eggs, dairy and more. Stock up on everything you need to cook a fabulous feast and grab a bite to eat on the day.
Groove, garden, and more
There will be entertainment from the J Waygood Band and the Surly Griffin Morris Dancers as well as demonstrations about sustainability, crafts and gardening, or try your hand at scarecrow making!
Tuck into a long lunch
Who doesn’t love a long lunch? This year, the Sunday Long Lunch features the Lebanese cultural heritage of Southern Harvest Association operations manager Ruth Gaha-Morris. She’ll be cooking up a family feast with her mother and daughter, using produce grown within a 150km radius.
Take a tour or workshop
The rest of Sunday’s program features tours and workshops at different farms around the region. Visit the pigs, chickens and goats at Value Life Farm, find out about permaculture at Millpost Merino, or learn about how Braidwood Food Company is recovering from the bushfires with their Australian Mountain Pepper orchard.
Check out southernharvest.org.au to find out more about the events on offer across the weekend. Tickets to some events and workshops are limited, so booking early is recommended.
