Scenic Rim Eat Local Week starts on Saturday, June 30 offering visitors more than 90 opportunities to visit local farms, taste just-picked produce, drink the wine and beer, and meet the producers.
Now in the 8th year, Eat Local Week celebrates the food, farmers and natural beauty of the Scenic Rim through a program of festivals, farm gate events, and culinary experiences.
Eat Local Week runs through until July 8 and showcases the bounty of produce that grows in the fertile region, situated just one hour from Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The Scenic Rim is one of Queensland’s most productive and exciting regions for food and wine. It’s a hub for winter vegetable production, dairies, beef, pork, sheep, and poultry, as well as more boutique products like finger limes, olives and nuts.
Eat Local Week has partnered with 13 regional food ambassadors, all of them leaders in their fields and passionate advocates of the regional produce.
Get muddy at Eat Local Week.
The week culminates in a signature event, the Winter Harvest Festival, on Saturday, July 7 at Aratula. The region’s producers come together to the Aratula Community Sports Complex to sell their produce, share stories about their businesses and meet the consumers. The day features free kids rides and activities, a Tractor Pulling competition, live music and cooking demonstrations by MasterChef Australia 2017 runner-up Ben Ungermann, author Brenda Fawdon and Wild Canary’s Glen Barratt.
Scenic Rim Mayor, Cr Greg Christensen, says Eat Local Week has grown significantly in the past eight years and has established itself as a ‘must-do’ event for anyone with an interest in great food and wine.
“If you haven’t experienced Scenic Rim Eat Local Week I encourage you to come and have a food and farm experience to remember,” he says.
“So many visitors during the week express surprise at the depth of produce which is growing in the Scenic Rim, only an hour from the city. Eat Local Week is an authentic festival of food, wine and farming and is an easy way to connect with the country and to give your children an insight into where their food comes from.
“We schedule the event for the first week of the Queensland school holidays so that families can be involved and enjoy the array of produce and farm experiences we offer.”
Eat Local Week’s popularity is so great that a number of events have sold out. But don’t worry, there are still plenty of events to attend, including producer lunches and dinners, cheese-making workshops, beer and wine evenings and the Winter Harvest Festival.
“Jump in the car, pack your gumboots and an Esky and come and have an experience you will not forget,” says Cr Christensen.
“We’re here, ready to welcome visitors and share our beautiful part of the world.”
Watch the morning milking.
Eat Local Week 2018 features more than 90 individual events, including many free and low-cost activities for children and families. The week culminates in the Winter Harvest Festival on Saturday, July 7, Eat Local Week’s signature event, featuring market stalls cooking demonstrations by MasterChef Australia 2017 runner-up Ben Ungermann and Wild Canary’s Glen Barratt, a tractor pulling competition and free rides for kids. Carrot clarinet musician, Linsey Pollak, will run workshops at Just Veg. Carrot Central, showing participants how to turn carrots into musical instruments.