Hot times at Toolangi

By Kath Gannaway
POETRY, plants, crafts and kites were just a sample of the fun locals and visitors enjoyed at the second Toolangi Festival over the weekend.
A farmers’ market, art show, bush walks, music at the tavern, market stalls, kiwifruit wine, fabulous coffee and food, Irish dancing, a quilt exhibition, local artisans at work, family games and just catching up with friends and strangers were also part of the mix, which, organisers Lorraine Hunter and Fred Swainton said, made for a successful community festival.
The festival revolved around bushfire recovery and was officially opened by local community worker Anne Leadbeater.
Ms Hunter said it was a great opportunity for the Toolangi and Castella communities to relax and have fun and to draw people back to the area.
“We had a lot of visitors and both the poetry and Babirra Music Theatre at The Singing Gardens and the open gardens drew a lot of people,” Ms Hunter said.
Celebrity guest, actor and television personality Ernie Dingo, presented prizes to winners of the poetry competition on the Saturday and took the opportunity to have a look around the various events and displays.
The Forest Discovery Centre sprang to life for the weekend with a magnificent display of art works from members of the Kinglake Arts Alliance and movies, including history films of Toolangi and the remastered version of The Sentimental Bloke.
Jan Williams, who organises and hosts the annual Toolangi Poetry Competition at her Singing Gardens Tearooms, said the event was a wonderful success with outstanding poets and poetry and a performance from the Babirra theatre company that drew a standing ovation.
Poetry competition winners were Isabelle Cimo in the children’s section, Sally van Tongeren in the bushfire poems section, David Campbell in the adult open section and David Campbell in the adults writing for children section.