Show stoppers!

By Melissa Donchi
THE Royal Melbourne Show may have ended on Sunday but the strong interest in the Yarra Valley has continued, according to recent tourism figures.
The Yarra Valley and The Dandenongs Marketing (YV&TDM) were invited to showcase their best in the feature display at the Grand Pavilion and media and marketing coordinator Heidi Crundwell said many local businesses had already been getting inquiries.
“We are already getting some immediate benefits for people coming out to the region and visiting places such as the Wild Orchid Bed and Breakfast in Olinda and You Scream Ice Cream in Healesville,” Ms Crundwell said.
Glenn Dovaston from Marysville Trout and Salmon Ponds said it had been a successful venture for the business.
“We had touch tanks where kids could come and interact with the fish,” Ms Dovaston said.
“Most of the kids have never touched a fish before so it was very exciting for them.”
Mr Dovaston said he was expecting to see a surge of interest in the business within a few weeks.
“Our main call to action at the show was to collect an email database to send information to people and encourage them to come and visit,” Ms Dovaston said.
“We have already had a few phonecalls so we will just wait and see.”
One of the show’s biggest success stories was Australian Harvest Fine Foods (AHFF) who sold hundreds of showbags to people at the show.
But AHFF owner Jane Rogers said the real honour was being asked by the show’s organisers to put together 50 special showbags for staff.
The showbags included produce from Australian Harvest Fine Foods, Enchanted Cottage Preserves, Giverny Estate, Yarra Coffee, Cunlisse Waters, Kookberry Jam, Warratina Lavender and Heathmont honey.
“We sold over 500 showbags to people at the show which was quite an achievement for us,” Ms Rogers said.
“But it was really an honour to be asked by organisers to make up special showbags for the staff.”