Berry good fest coming back with a bang

A MAJOR event on Moorabool Shire’s calendar will be back in 2024 after being cancelled last year.

The Bacchus Marsh Strawberry & Cherry Festival usually draws in tens of thousands of visitors annually, but due to running costs almost reaching six figures, last year’s event was halted.

But the fest will be back this year, expanding from three days to four, and bringing back carnival rides, market stalls, artisanal goods, and of course, local produce.

Felicity Ashman is the owner of Urban Markets which ran the Festival in 2022 following the closure of former organisers, Bacchus Marsh Tourism Association in 2021.

Ms Ashman has been involved in the event since 2015. She said cancelling it in 2023 had been a difficult decision and she was excited to bring it back for the community in November.

“I’m extremely excited to have the Festival back. It was a shame that we had to cancel last year, but talks with Council were so prolonged and running so far into August…it really left us with no time to plan properly,” she said.

“We’re still working out the activities, but we’d love to have more community involvement. It’d be great to have some community groups do some of the functions, and collect some money for their donations. There’s also still room for local businesses to get involved with stalls and activities.

“There’ll be major changes to the traffic management this year. The off-ramp from the Avenue of Honour inbound from Melbourne won’t be closed this year, it’ll be monitored by traffic lights instead.

“That’ll keep the flow of traffic coming to and from Bacchus Marsh more evenly flowing.”

The Strawberry & Cherry Festival will begin on Thursday 14 November at 5pm for a locals night with the carnival only, finishing at 11pm.

From 5pm to 10pm on Friday 15 November, attendees can enjoy Village Green entertainment, food trucks, and the carnival, with the street market, community stage and main stage entertainment, carnival and public hall market on from 9am to 10pm on Saturday 16 November.

On the final day, Sunday, the street market, stage entertainment, carnival, and public hall market will all be on again.

For more information on the Bacchus Marsh Strawberry & Cherry Festival, visit strawberrycherryfestival.com.au.