By Renee Wood
There will be plenty of action this weekend at the Upper Yarra Museum in Yarra Junction as it hosts the popular ‘Crank Up’ event.
Museum President Lee Pannett is expecting more than two thousand people to come through the gates for the festival, which has been running since the 70s.
“From what we understand it is one of the longest running events in the Yarra Ranges shire,” Mr Pannett said.
In recent years, the addition of the wood chopping competition has helped to renew the festival and attract many to attend the festival.
“Because the wood chop is a live and active event, you get a lot of people in for that because it’s never the same.”
The gates open 10am to 4pm Saturday 26 March to the roaring sounds of engines of all kinds, while draft horses, a petting zoo and other displays and stalls will also be available.
The official wood chop for the Victorian Axemen Association will be held on Sunday 27 March, alongside the other offerings.
Volunteers have worked throughout lockdown periods to update and change the displays throughout the museum.
“Our main display room now holds a photographic display of townships along the Warburton Highway.
“And we’ve been working on refreshing some of the older exhibits and giving them a spruce up and changing a couple of those exhibits as well.”
The Railway Cottage has also undergone a make over with new paint, weatherboards and roof, and the display has been rearranged.
Tickets are available at the gate, $10 for adults and kids under 15 are free.
