Balliang festival celebrates the harvest

TOMORROW, 21 March, just happens to be the autumn equinox.

To celebrate it, St George’s Anglican Church in Balliang is hosting its annual Community Harvest Festival this Sunday 22 March.

Everyone is invited to attend the seasonal celebration happening from 11am at the Balliang Memorial Hall and grounds, near the church, local Anglican parish minister Rev Andrew Gifford said.

Rev Gifford said the day will get started with a family-friendly thanksgiving service followed by an auction of homemade goods or homegrown produce to raise funds for the Balliang East Primary School Kitchen Garden, a free sausage sizzle and salad lunch, and kids’ activities.

“Harvest Festivals are traditionally held on the autumn equinox, which this year is 21st March,” said Rev Gifford who is Anglican minister at the Holy Trinity Church in Bacchus Marsh and Christchurch at Myrniong, as well as St George’s at Balliang.

“They’re an opportunity to give thanks for the goodness of this world, which can be really helpful amongst the conflicts and natural disasters we also face.

“We want to recognise that in our local community there are many people who still work the land so that we have our ‘daily bread’ and we want to give thanks for this too.

“Our celebration will be all-ages-friendly and it will also invite creativity and reflection on who gives us life.”

Everyone who attends is being invited to bring along something homemade or home-grown to auction with goods set to go under the hammer of auctioneer-for-the-day, local resident Carole Cochrane.

“The festival has been running here for at least the last twenty or so years, with a break during COVID, and this will be the third festival since I’ve been here,” Rev Gifford said.

“Last year there would have been about 60 people attending and we’d love to see more people this time as well.”