New Stanthorpe Berry Festival to showcase region’s finest produce

This year’s summer strawberry season is set to kick off with a bang with this new event, which aims to celebrate the Granite Belt’s delicious produce and bring big tourist numbers.

Stanthorpe Berry Festival will launch exclusively on the Granite Belt later this year, where visitors can try their hand at relishing in all things strawberries. Photo: Contributed

A Stanthorpe woman has taken her passion for showcasing some of the region’s best produce and turned it into an exciting new festival.

The inaugural Stanthorpe Berry Festival will kick off in November with tickets to go on sale later this month for the event, which will give strawberry growers the chance to show off their produce on the regional stage.

Stanthorpe Berry Festival event co-ordinator Amy Torrisi. Photo: Saavanah Bourke / NRM

Event co-ordinator Amy Torrisi said her love of strawberries and the region sparked the idea to create a festival which showcased and celebrated local produce.

“It’s about increasing the summer strawberry profile, anyone with a love of strawberries will be interested in the event,” she said.

“It’s important to recognise that the strawberry industry in the district is strong, with the region accounting for over 90 per cent of summer strawberry production.”

Mrs Torrisi hoped the event would bring huge tourist numbers and a much-needed cash boost to the region.

“It increases the economy if there is more demand for the strawberries. Our growers then need to produce more crops which means they need more workers, which means more money back into the region,” she said.

Inside Eastern Colour’s strawberry farm in Applethorpe. Photo: Contributed

Visitors can get involved in a huge range of events at the festival including taste-testing, eating competitions, a strawberry jam cooking competition, meet the farmers, and more.

“It’s all about making the connection with the strawberry, putting into people’s mind how it actually gets puts on people's tables,” she said.

Ashbern Farms, Eastern Colour, Pinata, Stanthorpe Berries, and Jamworks are some of the region's top producers who will be part of the festival.

Director of strawberry and apple farm Eastern Colour Nathan Baronio. Photo: NRM

Eastern Colour director Nathan Baronio said he was excited to join in on the festivities and focus on the positives of fruit production in the region.

“I am so excited to talk with people at the festival about the berries, I’m keen to celebrate something great. What’s better than new-season fruits?” he said.

Mr Baronio encouraged people to attend the festival and support the quality produce grown on the Granite Belt.

“The benefit that the industry and community gets out of it is great, not a lot of people know that the Granite Belt is the Queensland summer strawberry capital,” he said.

“I think everyone should come down and see how much better Queensland berries are than down south. It’s the perfect time of year, the flavour will be bloody awesome, so nice and sweet.”

Ashbern Farms in Stanthorpe is one of several strawberry growers on the Granite Belt. Photo: NRM

Eastern Colour and Ashbern Farms will also host a two-day event around the festival inviting guests to go and pick strawberries straight from the patch.

“It’s a berry festival, people can see all the amazing things we grow, at that time of year there is such beautiful and fresh fruit,” Mr Baronio said.

Stanthorpe’s Jamworks will provide cooking masterclasses at the festival. Photo: News Limited

The Stanthorpe Berry Festival will be held at Weeroona Park on November 13 from 10am-5pm.

Tickets are available to purchase here from August 20.