Super soup starts Aireys festival

THE Love Winter in Aireys festival has again begun in apt fashion given the cold conditions, treating residents and visitors with warm cups of soup.

About 80 people gathered at the Aireys Inlet Community Garden on Saturday for Soup in the Community Garden and dug into nine delicious home-made soups made by nine of the garden’s members.

The soups were sweet potato and chickpea; cauliflower and bacon; pea and ham; potato, cauliflower and leek; chunky vegetable and two kinds of lentil soup as well as two made with produce from the garden: tromboncino (a squash variety similar in flavour to pumpkin) and spicy pumpkin with coconut milk.

Garden members enjoyed catching up over a warm mug of soup around the fire and welcomed visitors to Aireys Inlet and to the garden.

Aireys Inlet Community Garden vice-president Heather McKee said Soup in the Community Garden drew a good and hungry crowd.

“When I had nine people volunteering to make soups, I kept thinking ‘ooh, it’s going to be too many’, but we ate it all.”

She said several new residents to Aireys Inlet came along to meet others and were keen to join the community garden and participate in (as the garden’s motto states) “growing food, friendships and community”.

“We advertised it more through the Love Winter in Aireys website, and I think we got more people off the street this year, which was nice.”

Surf Coast Shire mayor Libby Stapleton welcomed people to the Soup in the Community Garden, the first event of the Love Winter in Aireys festival, which runs until Sunday, June 19.

The gathering of community garden members was also an opportunity to unveil a sculptural birdbath commissioned by the community garden and created by two local artists – Cinnamon Stephens, who creates metalwork pieces; and Liz Wood, an accomplished potter.

The birdbath was made possible by a generous donation from garden member Ann Williams.

“Ann had a birthday several years ago, and instead of asking for presents, she said her friends could donate to the garden,” Ms McKee said.

“We’ve been thinking about it (the money) and what to do with it, so through COVID and everything else, it’s taken until now.

“It’s a terrific sculpture.”

For more information on Love Winter in Aireys, head to facebook.com/AireysInlet