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West Australian
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day: Fun for all ages as patrons celebrate theme ‘Sexy Soil: The Power Beneath'
The 18th Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day promises to be a great day out, with this year's theme 'Sexy Soil: The Power Beneath' set to highlight how important high-quality soil is for gardening and farming alike. Each year, the Perth Hills come alive with crowds who want to celebrate the best of small landholdings, country living, and farming, with the field day attracting people from the Perth CBD, Perth Hills and across the Wheatbelt. Among the attractions are gardening and livestock displays, various guest speaker presentations, a machinery section, a sheep dog display, woodturners demonstrations, the WA Alpaca Expo, and more. It is also home to WA's Honey Festival and Olive Festival, which are held at the event and on the same day as a way to boost visitor numbers to all three events. More than 6000 people flocked through the gates of last year's event, which was themed 'Toadstools, Mushrooms and Fungi'. This year, the attention is on what's beneath the ground surface. Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day chair Penny Morgan, who took the reins last year after being part of the event since it began in 2007, said this year's event would celebrate the importance of soil. 'Soil is where everything starts,' she said. 'For both gardening and farming, if you get the soil right, everything follows.' Ms Morgan said this year's event came at an interesting time, with an influx of 'tree changers' moving to the Perth Hills since COVID-19, more five-acre blocks opening up in the area and more locals trying their hand at gardening. 'Once again, our event will be family friendly, interactive, and have something for everyone of all ages, with lots of hands-on activities for the kids,' Ms Morgan said. 'The Field Day is a great way to share lots of local knowledge ... at a time when there is a lot happening in the Gidgegannup area.' There will be a range of roving entertainment on offer around the grounds, for children and adults alike. Children will be amused and educated by roving fairies and performances by the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. They can even make a worm farm to take home or pot up a seedling. In the livestock section, guests can see goat, poultry, llama, alpaca, sheep and cattle displays, and for the first time beautiful Babydoll sheep. A dedicated garden area — called Up the Garden Path — has about eight displays from nurseries and soil-focused businesses which aim to provide help and advice for those growing plants both indoors and outdoors. The cafe and entertainment centre has entertainment throughout the day, including puppetry, storytelling from the Freedom Fairies, and much more. Around the grounds will be the Mad Tatters dancing, singer Paul Davies, the Enchanted Stilt walkers and so much more, as well as a new Gardeners Dell over by the cafe and entertainment area. Tickets cost $15 for adults, with those aged 16 and under able to enter for free, and are available at the gate on the day or online by searching Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day on Humanitix. The Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day is on May 25. To read the official program, pick up a copy of the May 15 edition of Countryman.
West Australian
15-05-2025
- General
- West Australian
Beautiful time to be o-live as WA celebrates fourth Olive Festival at Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day
WA's annual Olive Festival will celebrate its fourth year at the Gidgegannup Field Day, with plans to again unite the industry with an olive oil competition, producer displays, tasting and much more. An olive grove worth of information will be presented at the Olive Festival marquees, with farmers and enthusiasts giving talks and cooking demonstrations on how to best use olives throughout the day. The Olive Festival is organised by the Swan Valley and Eastern Regions Slow Food Convivium and aims to encourage those with backyard olive trees to make use of their fruit. The group also wants to show the public how olive oil can be used and enjoyed in a range of recipes. Food will be available to buy from the Slow Food tent at the Olive Festival all day, including bruschetta with mushrooms, soup of the day and steak sandwiches — all finished with local olive oil. WA Olive Festival organiser Vincenzo Velletri has about 160 olive trees at his property on Toodyay Road and uses the fruit to create homemade olive oil and pickled olives for his catering business Il Paiolo, as well as for his family and friends. Mr Velletri is the Swan Valley and Easter Regions Slow Food Convivium leader and has been involved in the Slow Food Movement for more than 20 years after being introduced to it in 1996. Founded in 1989, Slow Food is a global grassroots organisation that aims to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions. Mr Velletri said the Swan Valley and Eastern Regions Slow Food Convivium had been working to promote good, clean and fair local producers by creating events such as this that connect them to consumers. 'Consumers play the most important role as their choices determine how food is cultivated and produced and directly impact communities around the world,' he said. 'Slow Food encourages everyone to reflect more on how our food choices shape the world around us and provides tools to help choose food that is good for those who eat it, good for those who grow it and good for the planet.' Mr Velletri said the event would be targeted at those that had anywhere from one to 1000 olive trees. About five olive oil producers will have stalls at the event, with taste tests of extra virgin olive oil, infused oils and preserved olives on offer — as well as the chance for festival-goers to talk to the producers that made them. There is also a focus on incorporating Indigenous herbs into the various oils on offer, as well as how to combine bush tucker products with olive oil to get a great result. A highlight of the event is the annual olive oil competition, which will be announced at the Field Day. Last year it was won by Jane and Jerome from SeaView Ridge Olive Grove for the second year in a row. Entries are due by 11am on the day of the Field Day, with the winner announced at 2.30pm. Mr Velletri said the competition aimed to give both seasoned producers and new entrants a chance to gain industry recognition. 'The judges of the Olive Oil Competition are experienced and trained professionals in the olive oil industry from Olive WA,' he said. A special display will showcase the machinery and equipment needed to run an olive grove, and there will also be a food stall managed by Slow Food volunteers cooking up dishes made with olive oil for patrons to buy. There will be cooking demonstrations throughout the day, as well as an exhibition of collectables, memorabilia and photos of WA's vibrant olive oil industry, and some olive trees on display. Among those with a strong belief that the Perth Hills are the perfect place to grow olives is Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day chair Penny Morgan. She moved to Gidgegannup with her husband Jim 32 years ago and started an olive grove they named after their daughter Felicity. These days, they grow 1400 olive trees to produce extra virgin olive oil they sell locally and online. The Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day is on May 25. To read the official program, pick up a copy of the May 15 edition of Countryman.
