The Central Coast Harvest Festival 2023 brought warm hearts and smiles to organisers, locals and visitors alike over the recent long weekend.
Big attendances caused parking challenges at many of the Central Coast’s hinterland venues.
Pecan picking on the Artisan Estate at Somersby saw cars parked along the roadside for almost a kilometre as residents flocked to the popular nut foraging sessions, all of which were sold out.
At Wyong Creek Public School, the Harvest Day Fair was packed out as families enjoyed stalls with fresh local produce, gumboot throwing and a petting zoo.
At Glenworth Valley the Grazing Days were sold out as young revellers enjoyed a series of big-stage musical performances from local and visiting bands as well as a dozen traditional and exotic food stalls.
Peter and Ruth Donnelly from Coachwood Nursery were thrilled with the numbers attending their plant, flower and fruit farm.
“Everyone’s been having a really nice time, and numbers have been really good,” Peter said.
“They’re coming from all over NSW; we’ve had lots of people using BnBs around here, Airbnb, hotels, motels and they’ve been staying overnight,” Ruth added.
The Sustainable Wetlands and Agriculture Makers Project aka SWAMP of Wyong shared knowledge and sold produce and pumpkins over the weekend.
“The Harvest Festival is a great way of bringing locals closer to the people and places that produce food locally,” SWAMP co-ordinator Sue Bradley said.
Up on the mountain Entopark insect farm opened its gates to allow hundreds of attendees to experience its innovative insect digestive system, which has attracted interest from around the world.
Company founders Romendo and Anne Atayde said: “It’s been a great opportunity to show the locals what we’ve been doing up here.
“We’ve been using insects as a way to recover organic content from our waste streams and then we recover all the residual waste, primarily the plastics, to produce a new product called synthetic coal.
“We don’t see waste as waste anymore; we see it as a resource.”
Council’s Director of Community and Recreation Services, Melanie Smith said the Harvest Festival provided an opportunity for people to take a glimpse behind the farm gate and explore Central Coast rural farming communities and their picturesque villages, whilst supporting local businesses and the economy.
“We are delighted to report that an estimated 56,0000 attendees enjoyed the Harvest Festival over the long weekend, bringing an estimated economic boost of $8.6million to our region,” Ms Smith said.
CCN