Yarra Ranges: Fruit picking festival to bring tourists back to the Yarra Valley
Looking for a fun and family friendly activity this weekend? Yarra Valley growers impacted by coronavirus and bushfire fears have organised a festival to bring visitors back.
Outer East
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Yarra Valley growers, makers and farmers are uniting to attract tourist back to the region as coronavirus fears start to hurt businesses.
The community are holding an impromptu Fruits of the Valley Festival selling fresh produce and other handmade wares at Rayners Orchard this weekend.
U-pick farm Rayners Orchard has reported a 70 per cent drop in its overseas tourists since the Victorian bushfires and then the coronavirus outbreak.
Business owner and farmer Len Rayner said other growers including Blue Hills, The Big Berry, as well as nearby blacksmiths and other makers would be at the festival.
“We are getting all the farmers together to try and showcase our wares to locals,” Mr Rayner said.
“We have been hit massively by the coronavirus (losing) 70 per cent of our business,” he said.
He said Healesville flower growers The Big Bouquet had been hit harder than others on the back of the recent death of an owner.
“We’ll be selling their flowers,” Mr Rayner said.
He said many farms had a tourist side of the business which had initially been impacted by confusion on where was safe to visit during the bushfires crisis.
“We had tours booked in, which cancelled because of the New Year fires,” Mr Rayner said.
“We tried to tell them we weren’t affected but the damage was done.”
He said the bushfire fears had been followed by the coronavirus outbreak which impacted a huge part of their business.
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Mr Rayner said 70 per cent of the business was international buyers — mainly Chinese and Vietnamese.
The festival will include tractor rides, fruit preserving, u-pick and fruit tasting tours, blacksmith demonstrations, fruiting plant sales, Devonshire tea, a sausage sizzle, a petting zoo, ice cream and children’s activities.
Visit the Fruits of the Valley Festival from 9am to 4pm at 60 Schoolhouse Road, Woori Yallock.