Hundreds of people flocked to Harcourt Recreation Reserve last Saturday for the town’s 31st annual Applefest.
Marquees were set up on the oval and offered food, drinks and bric-a-brac to visitors, while various kids activities ranged from camel riding to medieval sword fighting.
George Milford, president of the festival’s organising committee, said the day had gone better than expected.
“This is a brilliant day for families in particular. There’s so many children, it’s just absolutely tremendous. The weather’s on our side and the crowds are pouring in,” he said.
Diana Cork, deputy chairperson of the Harcourt Valley Heritage and Tourist Centre, said the event began 31 years ago to raise money for the centre. She thought the day had a cosy ambience similar to an episode of Midsomer Murders, minus the murder.
“Thirty-two years ago a group of Harcourtians decided they wanted a museum. So they thought, ‘okay, we’ve got the hall, we’ll approach the shire’. The shire was happy and they started a museum with no computers, paper and pencil, and people donating. To fund the museum they said, ‘how are we going to get some money?’ And they devised this concept of Applefest,” she said.
“All of this, it was to fund the Heritage Centre.”
Central to the day were local apples and pears, which were available in the form of drinks, pies and toffee sweets.
Natalie McCarthy, a volunteer at the festival for the past 10 years, has been making apple pies with the local primary school. This process sees parents and children come together to make an entire pie from scratch.
“We made 260 pies this year with the school children at the local primary school, which is less than usual. We started first week of term and have been making them twice a week for today’s event,” she said.
Harcourt has long been known for its first-class apples. The first orchards planted in the town date back to 1857.
