Popular festival has great a-peel

By Kath Gannaway
EXCITEMENT is mounting out Gladysdale way as plans for the annual Gladysdale Apple and Wine Festival take shape.
The festival, to be held on Sunday, 6 May, is a country-style family day celebrating the autumn apple and grape harvest in the Little Yarra Valley.
Visitors can indulge in apple tasting and sample juices and wines from local vineyards and orchards. Bags of apples picked fresh from the trees are a tasty souvenir to take home.
Numerous culinary delights, including gourmet platters and cheeses, can be enjoyed in the relaxed picnic setting with a glass of wine or a Devonshire tea.
Free live entertainment includes clowns, displays, chainsaw carving demonstrations and competitions such as the best scarecrow or apple pie and the heaviest giant pumpkin.
There is plenty of entertainment for all the family with the popular animal farm, go-karts, jumping castles, mini golf, archery and a bungee trampoline.
The craft and market stalls have become a real drawcard of the festival with the plant stall and its cheap prices one of the most popular.
A grand raffle is run in conjunction with the festival with terrific prizes including a giant trailer package.
The peaceful bush setting of the Gladysdale Primary School is another attraction.
Just four kilometres from Yarra Junction along the Little Yarra Road on the way to Powelltown, the quaint school is surrounded by shade trees and has a contagious community spirit.
Admission and parking are free and all profits go to support the school.
Is it any wonder the Gladysdale Apple and Wine Festival has such great “a-peel” to families – it’s affordable, with lots to do for all ages, more than a bargain or two on offer … and it’s great fun.