From Paddock to Plate to Party:
Scenic Rim Eat Local Month's flavour-filled finale weekend to be a harvest celebration for the ages
Ready, Set, Esky: the much-loved Winter Harvest Festival is the perfect flavour-finale to Scenic Rim Eat Local Month, Australia's most authentic paddock-to-plate food and farming celebration.
As the signature event of Eat Local Month, it's the golden ticket to taste the very best of the Scenic Rim's seasonal bounty, sip local wines, beers, and spirits, and get the dirt on where food really comes from—all while soaking up unbeatable country hospitality in the stunning township of Kalbar.
To be held on Saturday 28 June, the festival brings the region's Food Ambassador Chefs growers, producers and flavour-makers together to deliver the ultimate farm-gate experience. There's over 60 stalls to wander where you can taste and sip the flavours of the Scenic Rim, witness the world famous Tractor Pull (can the veg growers hold onto the title this year!), and there's incredible new workshops, flavours and faces—plus of course, Moffatt's famous Carrot Ice Cream (did you know the Scenic Rim produces 600 million carrots a year and is the carrot capital of the country) and Carrot Tossing!
Across the weekend the harvest celebrations continue in and around Kalbar. On Saturday fans can tip their hat to the trailblazers of the Scenic Rim who fed families long before Uber Eats. At the Celebration of Lost Culinary Arts in the gorgeous Kalbar School of Arts, visitors can learn the art of bottling, pickling, and preserving—plus stock up on enough jams, marmalades, and chutneys to make your pantry pop. Recipes and culinary secrets handed down over generations will be shared in this in this truly wonderful celebration.
When the sun goes down there's Saturday night's Harvest Hoedown with country music stars Laura Frank, Kaitlyn Thomas, Ruby Jane and line dancing! On Sunday, get your hands dirty picking produce with fifth-generation farmers at Valley Pride Produce or indulge in a farm-to-fork feast at Speckles on the Teviot.
With on-site glamping, coach tours from Brisbane and beyond, and plenty of room for the whole family, it's the ultimate farm gate weekend—where the flavours of the Scenic Rim come together for an unforgettable celebration of local goodness!
Scenic Rim Regional Council Mayor, Tom Sharp said, "Eat Local Month provides the perfect opportunity for our local community, visitors and people of all ages, backgrounds and tastes to enjoy an authentic paddock-to-plate experience and to renew their connection with our natural environment and agricultural production."
"The Winter Harvest Festival is all of this in one wonderful day!" he said. "Traditionally, growers have taken their product to market, but increasingly we are seeing consumers wanting a closer connection with the source of their food by buying directly from the producers and growers in our region and the Winter Harvest Festival invites them to do just this. People are not only tasting the freshness and quality of the product but also gaining a greater understanding of the farmers' experience, their lifestyle and their dedication to quality produce. This raises awareness of the improvements being made in farming practices to build resilience in rural production and we're seeing more and more artisans take raw and by-products to create something of even greater value."
"From its modest beginnings in 2011, the Winter Harvest Festival has provided a boost to our rural sector, helping to create jobs and driving our region's prosperity. Importantly, it also helps to grow an appreciation for those who put food on our tables and of where our food comes from."
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Market Stalls to Fill Your Boots (and Your Esky!) There's more than 60 stalls showcasing everything from local cheeses and small goods to freshly harvested produce, artisan spirits, and handcrafted treasures. Low food miles guaranteed – you can see the paddocks this produce came from!
Demonstrations, Workshops & More The Homestead Kitchen will cook up a storm with Scenic Rim Food Ambassadors Alison Alexander, Elliot Platz, Glen Barratt, Richard Ousby and Caz Osborne from Scenic Rim Cooking Classes, serving up top tips for making the most of your local harvest. And if that's not enough, book into one of the ticketed hands-on workshops (think: brewing, distilling, and even mushroom growing) that'll have you embracing your inner farmer faster than you can say 'preserved lemons.'
Tractor Pull: The Battle of Brawn (and Bragging Rights!) At the world-famous Tractor Pull, presented by Community Bank Kalbar, who's got the muscle to wrestle a 10-tonne Kubota tractor across the finish line? Local butchers, farmers, and the Defence and local Council teams are all vying to reclaim the title from last year's veggie-victors, Kalfresh Vegetables. Bring your loudest cheer and witness the epic showdown—winner takes home cash for their local community group!
Celebration of Lost Culinary Arts presented by 612 ABC Radio Brisbane Learn the art of bottling, pickling, and preserving—plus stock up on enough jams, marmalades, and chutneys to fill your pantry. Hosted by Craig Zonca, Loretta Ryan and Alison Alexander from 612 ABC Radio Brisbane, this free event invites guests to explore traditional skills through talks, demonstrations and market stalls—honouring the creativity, resilience and culinary ingenuity that filled pantries and fed families long before refrigeration and supermarkets.
Live Music, Food & Drink Think wood-fired pizzas with seasonal toppings, BBQ'd local beef and freshly picked corn, Spanish paella by Food Ambassador Chef Javier Codina from MODA, hearty pies and sweet pastries from Food Ambassador Chef Glen Barratt plus all the local wines, beers, and spirits your heart desires—all soundtracked by live tunes from our homegrown musicians. It's the ultimate farm gate party.
