By KATRINA BRANDON
BLASTING fun was had at the Eat, Drink, Play Gippsland festival stationed at the Leongatha Railway Precinct on October 18.
Attendees experienced some of Gippsland’s best products all together in one place.
The day was split into two sessions: a day session focused on food and drinks, and a night session featured rapid-fire bands that got the crowd moving.
According to the co-organiser of the event, Dan Sims, about 3000 people attended the day session, while another 1000 participated in the afternoon music session. People hailed from all around, with some coming from Melbourne and some locals taking to the event on their doorsteps, celebrating the warmth of the day.
Coming into the day, visitors were faced with wet and chilly weather, but an hour into the event, it warmed up to 18 degrees with barely any cloud cover. While the weather changed, it didn’t faze most.
“Today (October 18) was an absolutely amazing day down here in Leongatha,” Maffco Brewery and Distillery’s Jim Reeves said.
“A bit of a typical South Gippsland day. It started with rain, and now we have beautiful sunshine. We have had a great flow of people, and it was awesome to be amongst the other Gippsland businesses. So, it has been a fantastic day.”
Mr Reeves also said that not only had the day been good for business, but he was also able to create some partnerships with other businesses for future collaborations.
Some businesses involved on the day included Trulli, Messmates, Tinamba Hotel, Gippsland Jersey, Prom Country Cheese, Hogget, Fleet Wines, The Wine Farm, Gippsland Wine Co, Dirty Three, and wineries Narkoojee, Carrajung, Glenmaggie and Infusa distillery.
Throughout the day, people were able to sit and listen to the experts about their products and recent developments. Wine chats and food talk provided visitors with insight into their local vendors and producers, allowing them to listen to the challenges they face and showcase their passion.
Francesca Dickinson from Port Franklin, a visitor to the event, came out feeling rather happy with the experience.
“(It was) fantastic! It started with the Invy Horn Jam, who were fantastic. It was a great way to start the day with dancing and singing with them,” she said.
“(It was) really interesting listening to the food talks and wine talks, the cidery and the chefs, like Hogget – how dedicated they are to ethical, quality, local produce.”
When asked what her favourite part of the day was, Ms Dickinson said that each part of the day was just as incredible as the next.
From the vine, Wine Talks was hosted by Max Allen, featuring Dirty Three, Lightfoot Wines, Fleet Wines, William Downie Wines and Bass Phillip. But down the line at Food Talks, the Herald Sun’s food and wine editor Kara Monssen hosted Gippsland Jersey’s Sallie Jones, Mahob at Moos, Gurneys Cider, Sailors Grave Brewing, Sodafish and Hogget.
Rolling into the climax of the day, people were wining and dining, chilling out on picnic blankets and camp chairs, while socialising and relaxing to the music in the background.
By 2.30pm, some businesses were starting to cross off food items from their menus, with some shutting their shops entirely around 3pm. But no worries for attendees, the organisers of the events shuffled the two sessions, swapping some businesses in and out to ensure that food was available throughout the day and night, giving more opportunities for others to step up and sell their products.
Almost two hours were set between the two sessions to ensure everyone had time to settle and businesses could get ready for the second session of the day.
Music throughout the day session was brought by Misty Harlowe, Janie Gordon, Jungle Jim Smith, Invy Horn Jam, and Ozone Street. This was later followed by Gippsland’s rising star Steph Strings, Emma Donovan, and Melbourne Ska Orchestra, which finished off the night with a bang.
Energy levels stayed consistent throughout the event, with plenty of activities to take part in.
Overall, Mr Sims was quite pleased with the turnout.
“(I am) relieved,” he told the Express.
“It’s a testament to the quality of the producers who are here. I think if anything, that’s a really great reiteration of what they do. We’re here, producers, to create a platform and bring them all together, cheerlead, wrangle everyone, and see everyone turn out.
“It is a vibe today. It’s a nice sort of chill.
“Some other events that we run when everyone turns up at the door at the same time, that get really intense. You’ve got people sitting down on lounge chairs, people sitting there and listening to some talks, food, talks, wine, talks, people on the grass listening to some music, grabbing some food. I mean, doesn’t get much better than that.”
