The undoubted success of the Collector Pumpkin Festival was evident on Thursday as president Gary Poile raced around the village delivering pumpkins for volunteers to cut up in preparation for the all-important soup-making on Friday night.
"I put out a call for people to cut up the pumpkins and got plenty. Now I'm flat-out looking for enough pumpkins, I'm pumpkin-wrangling as we speak,'' he said, with a laugh.
"Someone will say, 'Yeah, I've got two'. And I'll be like, 'Take them over to such-and-such so they can cut them up'.''
It's that grassroots community spirit combined with the heavenly delights of an outing to the countryside in autumn which have made the Collector Pumpkin Festival such a must-see event.
Up to 12,000 people are expected at the festival this Sunday.
Gary said with fine weather predicted for this year's festival Sunday, he was expecting up to 12,000 visitors on the day. That's in a town that boasts just 313 residents.
It's the 15th year of the festival and it goes from strength to strength with stalls, tea with pumpkin scones, the aforementioned - and tasty - pumpkin soup, and plenty of good old-fashioned fun including the scarecrow competition, which is always a hoot.
"They're pegging out 150 scarecrows as we speak,'' Gary said.
Entrants dress up their scarecrow with supplied clothing or bring your own designs, with the possibilities endless.
Some of the behemoths of the Collector Pumpkin Festival.
There will also be a new entry this year for the smallest pumpkin by weight, along with the prizes for the usual orange behemoths that lugged in by ute, trailer or wheelbarrow.
Still one of our all-time favourite entries in the Collector scarecrow competition.
Another new attraction this year is the Tiny Tots Pumpkin Patch in the playground area of the Collector Hall where kids can play on the mini-haybale maze, go on the jumping castle and have their face painted. A coffee van will also be nearby for mums and dads.
The secret to the success of the festival is pretty simple, according to Gary.
"We try to keep it like a real festival and work on little fun things to do as you go around,'' he said.
"These days it seems every kind of event is called a festival but I think ours is the one that got the ball - or the pumpkin - rolling. We just like to have good, old-fashioned fun.''
There will also be other competitions on the day, ranging from the tastiest pumpkin quiche to the best-carved pumpkin.
- The Collector Pumpkin Festival is on Sunday, May 6 from 10am to 4pm. Entry is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and children under 15 have free entry. Cash only at the entry gates.