ACTIVITIES to cater for a range of interests.
Food to satisfy most tastes.
Nature and farming on show.
Cohuna has turned it on with a myriad of events in recent days to attract the attention of both local residents and visitors – and there’s more to come.
The Big Cohuna Festival began on Friday with a dairy cattle sale, art exhibition and gourmet dinner.
The five-day festival was launched at the Big Cohuna Tasting Table, where patrons were treated to local food and wine in an open-air dining area established on the civic centre lawns.
Cr Sonia Wright said that the festival had evolved out of the former Austoberfest, the brain-child of the seven-member Next Gen project, established five years ago to drive entrepreneurial endeavour.
The group had morphed into a special events division of the Cohuna Progress Association.
Cr Wright said that Cohuna was big on hospitality, generosity and community spirit.
Earlier, quality dairy cattle were sold at the district’s first invitational auction at the Gorbro Holstein Stud, operated by the Gordon family at McMillans.
The civic centre art gallery was the venue for exhibition of work by renowned astrophotographer Shayne Mostyn and photos by some of his students.
Cr Wright officially opened the festival after a Welcome to Country by Hack Webster and elder Aunty Esther Kirby.
Saturday’s offerings included the weekly Parkrun in the Garden Park precinct and the Creekside Fair, staged by Cohuna Consolidated School.
Creek cruises, paddle-boarding a carp-catching competition and turtles display were other attractions.
Special events co-ordinator, Jodie Hay, who has a fine reputation for “people persuading”, said that the festival was the result of the efforts of hundreds of people.
“When you run something like this, you realise that so many people give their time, their skills,” she said.
Mrs Hay also thanked the progress association, which demonstrated trust and belief in “my many crazy ideas.”
The festival concludes today with a Gunbower Creek paddle-boarding tour, a wellness session, a chicken and champagne breakfast creek cruise and a Melbourne Cup luncheon at Gunbower in aid of Cohuna District Hospital.
