As most of you know, I’m a yank living on the Sunshine Coast of Australia. I’ve lived here since 1996 after meeting my now husband through an ad on a local bulletin board system when I lived in Orlando. yes, THAT long ago.
I lived in the southern part of Australia up until a few years ago but left the winter chill down south and came up north where it’s warm all year. (If you’re in the states, it does your head in to say going north to get warm, doesn’t it?)
This is the best part of Australia – I’m convinced of it. It’s a tourist destination but it’s not filled with high rise hotels and resorts nor is it filled with crime or other nasties. It’s not perfect but it’s really close. This does remind me of Florida where I moved from but without the hoopla.
The Sunshine Coast region is a food lovers paradise with almost everything grown here. I really enjoy food events. This weekend is the Eumundi Food Fest and I can’t wait to go. Food lovers like me will find heaps of food products to taste at only $6 — and entry is free!
Orgasmic food is important but honestly, it’s time we looked at the quality of the food we eat. Are the additives and preservatives really doing us any good? I’m one who much prefers to prepare her own food from fresh, local ingredients but not everyone has hopped on that train. Festivals like the Eumundi Food Fest help to inform us about what’s good and why we should embrace fresh.
This is the tenth year of the food fest that claims to be fabulous food, family and farm-acy. They focus on local, fresh food with sustainability in mind.
I’m looking forward to the Tucker Tent demonstration by school students who will be cooking culinary delights from their school garden. There’s also going to be gluten free cooking demonstrations and a cooking demonstration by Jamie Milverton’s Kitchen Boot Camp participants. The Kitchen Boot Camp is an initiative for long term unemployed youth who spend 4 weeks in Jamie’s course to learn the skills to gain employment in the food industry. He also makes damn fine jam.
New to the “fest” this year is Farm-acy they will present homemade breakfast, lunch and dinner with their commonsense approach to what we eat and how simply we can grow, produce and source good food for our families. Also in the Farm-acy is my new friend Cath Manual who owns Soil to Supper. She and her young son will be inspiring people to grow, harvest and cook their own food in order to nourish and nurture themselves and loved ones.
I won’t leave without stopping by Strawberry Lane. It’s strawberry season up here now and there will be jams, cakes, scones and pavlovas that I won’t want to miss.
Old, slow food is the new wellbeing. The quality of our food determines the quality of our health. Look around, we have a lot of work to do.
Hope to see you in Eumundi on Sunday!
Sounds like a fun time. I just received a reminder that my alma mater is inviting us to a local Art of Eating, Food and Wine Festival this Friday although the festival is on all weekend. Free gift for attending but you have to buy your own food from the dozen or more restaurants and wineries at various booths. 🙂 And they’re providing free shuttle buses from various locations to get you to the park.
that’s really a huge crowd there 🙂 must be lots of fun with tonnes of great food!
Fabulous food, family and farm-acy? What a super initiative and looks so much fun to boot too. Can’t agree with you more about the work still to be done to encourage more flavour, fresh food and healthier lifestyles. Hopefully it will turn more people on…;-)
I want to live in Australia! Heck, I’d settle for just a visit! Looks like an amazing event, have a great time! xo
You are cordially invited to visit and stay in our guest room 🙂 I even speak American so nobody needed to translate 🙂
What a fun festival!
I love those festivals, so much fun with food and friends! 🙂
You are going to have a blast! Take lots of pictures please.
Yes, ma’am!
I love the story of how you met your husband through an ad on a bulletin board although it does sound like he was a ‘most wanted’ fugitive or a ‘missing’ person! I’ve been to the Eumundi markets and really enjoyed myself and yes, it was a hot and sunny day. I remember there being excellent organic produce available, particularly the meat xx
I don’t go to Eumundi markets often but a friend of mine who has a stall in the lower bit says she’ll teach me to re-learn applying makeup if I go early on Sunday morning when she’s bored. It won’t be tomorrow with the festival going on 🙂 I go to the Noosa Farmer’s Market which is absolutely the best market I’ve ever gone to.
Sounds like a swell time. I love food festivals like those. I moved to Florida in 1996, when you were leaving (I’ve since left). Great place, but it’s changed (and it had already changed from what you first knew when I moved there). Australia sounds wonderful – I really need to visit it some day.
My daughter still lives in Orlando, downtown College Park and I can’t imagine living there now. It’s a lovely, trendy area but sheesh, so many people and so much traffic.
Omg have fun my friend, have a TON of fun 😀
That is the coolest!!!
I went to these markets when I was just a kid visiting the coast 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I didn’t know these things about you – so am glad to learn more!
Is that your husband in the photo? – or the young son…?
Sounds like it is very close to paradise!
🙂
Valerie
Farm-acy…. I love it! What a brilliant idea. I think we’d all be a lot healthier if there was a farm-acy in every suburb. I also think the school kichen garden is a brilliant idea. I wish they’d had that sort of thing when I was at school.
Have fun and I’ll look forward to reading all about it!
me too but back in the states we started school in September and by October the ground was frozen and we got out of school just as gardens were going in for the summer. Summer in Maine lasted about 8 weeks 🙂
Wonderful…and I so wish I lived a wee bit closer. I can’t wait to hear about the festival and see pictures. You have such a way with both your camera and your words! And I love the Farm-acy idea. Just brilliant!
Oh you’re so kind. I’m quite flattered 🙂
I know what I am doing on Sunday. Hopefully Roy is up for it by then too, I need him to help me eat as much as possible. Hugs xx
I’m looking forward to meeting Roy at Eumundi! Text me when you get there 🙂
IOh man do I love Eumundi. I so wish I could teleport myself there. You live in one of my most fave places in the world you lucky thing xx
Sonia, I’ve said it heaps of times. I’ve lived in a lot of places but this is by far my favorite. It’s got everything and none of the bad stuff.
Oh I want to go too! Looks like you had a fabulous time, Maureen! Great pictures!
One of my good friends moved to Australia after meeting her husband! I really need to visit her. Great photos!
Absolutely! You will love it here. Everyone is so friendly and funny.
You’re making me want to make an airline reservation and hop (haha) over there! It sounds quite amazing! Have fun!
I’ve got a lovely guest room, you can use the kayaks and paddle out to the ocean, you can visit all the foodie places… I think you should visit 🙂
Sounds like you’ll be having a fun weekend! And, how great that it’s strawberry season. Have fun!
I love strawberries in the winter! Then in late spring we have the strawberries from down south. LOVE strawberries
Sounds like a great event…if only I wasn’t halfway around the world.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go to something like this with you???
That sounds fun Maureen. I so agree on making food from fresh ingredients. A few things might not be avoided, but truly, it doesn’t take much to cook fresh food and make it orgasmic.
so true!
The Sunshine coast sounds like paradise! Enjoy the Eumundi Festival!!!
So jealous of your trip Maureen. Enjoy the festival, have a delicious time 🙂
Have fun. Eats lots. Look forward to your report and pictures of this event.
Have a wonderful time! It sounds like a great festival with lots and lots to enjoy! Yes – it does sound strange to say you went north to get warm. 🙂
Looks like you are having an amazing time. Sounds like a lot of fun.
“This does remind me of Florida where I moved from but without the hoopla.”
ha ha ha ha As a fellow Floridian from the Space Coast not far from Orlando, I so get you! Funny! And this looks like an amazing festival. The more I see and read about Australia from my foodie friends the more I want to move there!
I moved from Geneva.. halfway to the space coast. I used to watch the shuttles go up from the veggie garden. Night ones were especially nice except I didn’t do any gardening then. 🙂
I’m heading out to Oberon NSW on the first Saturday of the month for a farmers market though I’m pretty sure it wont be as warm as where you are! There is a stall selling black truffles! 🙂
oh my.. black truffles!! I want to come along!!