QLD Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Honorable Dr John McVeigh, will officially launch the new milk brand at 1pm next Tuesday. The Robotic Dairy will be open to the public from 9am to 4pm the same day, with live music, milking demonstrations, food, coffee, and of course milk.

The launch will be the culmination of eight months of work by the Dennis Family to establish a milk processing facility on site at the Scenic Rim Robotic Dairy.

Farmer Greg Dennis says everyone is welcome to attend and celebrate his family’s incredible achievement of producing, processing and bottling milk under their own label, Scenic Rim 4Real Milk.

“I did joke last Friday when we got the green light from Safe Foods QLD that is was quite a strange feeling to have done all that work just to get to the starting line,” says Mr Dennis.

“Making the decision to process and bottle our own milk isn’t one we’ve taken lightly. Our entire family is committed to saving this farm. We’ve received hundreds of messages of support from people as far away as Perth. It’s really given us the confidence that there are people out there who not only want to support local Australian farmers, but who also value fresh, minimally-processed milk delivered straight to their shops and cafes.”

Mr Dennis says it’s fitting that the official launch happen during Eat Local Week as the week’s key messages of sourcing fresh food close to home gel with his family’s new venture.

“The wider Scenic Rim has been tremendously supportive of our milk brand, particularly Boonah and Tamborine Mountain,” he says.

“I think just about every shop in Boonah, except for the supermarket, has signed up to take our milk. I really like the concept of Eat Local Week and I believe that when you talk local the Scenic Rim has been adopted by Brisbane and the Gold Coast as being in their backyard.”

Scenic Rim Mayor John Brent says he and the Council are thrilled to support the Dennis Family’s new milk venture.

“The launch of Scenic Rim 4Real Milk is tangible proof of the hard work, resilience and determination of the Dennis family and the local community,” says Cr Brent.

“It’s very appropriate that this new local milk brand be launched during Scenic Rim Eat Local Week as it epitomises all that the week stands for – supporting local food producers, improving sustainability and reducing food miles.

“Congratulations to Greg, his family and to everyone who has been involved in achieving this milestone. I encourage Scenic Rim residents to attend the Open Day next Tuesday and to support this venture at the checkout.”

During Eat Local Week, Greg Dennis will also be guest speaker at two dinner events and will be at the Winter Harvest Festival at Aratula on June 29.

On Wednesday June 26 hear Greg speak about his family’s journey at the Wallaby Ridge Retreat for the Scenic Rim Local Producers Dinner. The cost is $39pp for a three-course meal and tickets must be pre-purchased. Call 55434340.

On Thursday June 27 Greg will speak at the Boonah Dines Out! dinner at the Dugandan Hotel. Tickets are $55pp and include a meal and wine. Book tickets at the Dugandan Hotel on 54631048.

Meet Greg at the Scenic Rim Winter Harvest Festival on June 29. The Festival is an exciting family day out, featuring tasting plates, live music, cooking demonstrations, kids activities, fresh produce, wine, milk, olives, cheese, jams, relishes and much more. It runs from noon to 5pm at the Aratula Community Sports Centre.

A full listing of Scenic Rim 4Real Milk stockists is available online at www.scenicrim4realmilk.com.au ,along with details of the Open Day. Entertainment includes Australian Country singer, Harmony James, Brisbane band Dozzi and The Kelly Gang.

Find out more about Scenic Rim Eat Local Week at www.eatlocalweek.com.au

Beaudesert will host the $175,000 trophy on August 16 and hold a range of community events on the same day to raise funds for local causes.
Launching in a hot air balloon overlooking the world-renowned Flemington racecourse, the 2013 Emirates Melbourne Cup trophy was joined by Shetland ponies, children and Melbourne Cup winning jockeys, trainers and racing personalities for the announcement.

VRC Chairman, Mr Michael Burn said the Tour’s longevity was a testament to the place the 152-year old Melbourne Cup plays in the cultural, sporting and social history of the nation.

“This year we received a record amount of tender applications across Australia and New Zealand and the Victoria Racing Club congratulates the successful destinations for their efforts.
“The Victoria Racing Club is incredibly proud to share the Emirates Melbourne Cup and provide this unique opportunity to Australasian communities,” said Mr Burn.

Taking off in on its three month Australasian journey in July, the EMCT will journey to Queensland’s gulf in the country’s far north, to Rockhampton, Karumba, Herberton, Longreach, Nebo, Brisbane, Quilpie, Dalby and Beaudesert.

In Western Australia, the 18 carat gold trophy will visit Goldfields, Leonora and Perth before jumping across the ditch to Auckland, New Zealand.
After galloping across to the nation’s capital, Canberra, attention will turn to New South Wales in Sydney and the thoroughbred breeding homelands of Albury, Queanbeyan, Mulgoa and Bowral.

Honouring Australia’s wine capital, the EMCT will stop over in Naracoorte and Adelaide in South Australia before flying across the Bass Strait to Devonport and Hobart in Tasmania.
Returning to the picturesque coastline of Victoria, the Cup will pay tribute to Americain, the 150th Melbourne Cup winner in Nagambie, tour Moe, Maffra, Mortlake, Terang, Woolsthorpe, Geelong, Wonthaggi and Cape Woolamai before heading on the home straight to Flemington for the 153rd running of the ‘race that stops a nationTM.’

On the road, the iconic trophy is accompanied by famed Melbourne Cup personalities and racing legends, who share their personal stories of triumph and tribulation with the great race.

Since 2003, the EMCT has travelled more than 325,000 kilometres, visited more than 236 regional, rural and metropolitan destinations and engaged tens of thousands of people.

For further information about the 2013 Emirates Melbourne Cup Tour schedule please visit www.melbournecuptour.com.au

Mrs Alexander is a passionate advocate for fresh Queensland produce and will be involved in the Scenic Rim Winter Harvest Festival on Saturday June 29.

Alison and Brisbane chef David Pugh, owner of Restaurant Two, will lead cooking demonstrations using a wide range of fresh Scenic Rim produce.

The Winter Harvest Festival concludes the Scenic Rim Eat Local Week, which celebrates the region’s food and wine producers.

Alison says the week-long event offers opportunities for people of all ages to meet food producers and learn more about the paddock to plate journey.

“The Eat Local Week program is just so extensive, it’s opened up a whole lot of places that I knew nothing of and that’s the excitement,” she says.

“I’m guessing that a lot of people are thinking, ‘We’ve been there before, we know about Boonah and Beaudesert.’ My message is that the area will have some terrific surprises for you during that week, some hidden secrets you didn’t know about; some activities and produce you don’t know about.

“People probably don’t realise that this region is feeding the whole of Australia in carrots at this time of year. “

David Pugh says he always looks close to home for ingredients for his popular Brisbane restaurant. He says the fresher he can buy produce the better.

“Direct supply is preferable and the less food miles the better,” he says.

“When you see product that’s been picked in the morning and you have it hours later it’s like it’s come from your own garden – it’s immense.

“We change our menu to suit the seasons. Our June menu features Jerusalem Artichokes, tomatoes from the Bowen area, Bundaberg is online, we have carrots and beetroot from Kalbar and beautiful raspberries from Wamuran.”

Alison and David will lead an hour-long cooking demonstration using Scenic Rim produce at the Winter Harvest Festival on Saturday June 29.

David says he plans to create some unique dishes using Scenic Rim vegetables and hopes to show the audience that cooking vegetables doesn’t need to be boring.

“I spent 10 days in Sri Lanka and all we ate was vegetables,” he says.

“There’s lots of ways to skin a cat. If we do a Bolognese we grate zucchini and celery in there. You can do eggplants in the tajine so they take on the flavour of the curry.”

Alison says eating local makes sense and more people are doing it. She says events like Eat Local Week help raise awareness about food production to a wider audience.

“Many people want fresh produce and they want seasonal produce and the way to do that is to buy local,” she says.

“Why would we even think of buying cherries and mangoes right now. They’re available but they’ll be coming from around the world. Why not eat the glut of citrus and strawberries that are on the shelves because they are seasonal and local? It’s the same with vegetables. Winter vegetables are the most exciting to work with. It just makes sense to me.”

The Winter Harvest Festival runs from noon to 5pm at the Aratula Community Centre and will feature many of the Scenic Rim’s food and wine producers. Guests can buy a tasting plate, stock up on fresh local produce and gourmet products, including olives, olive oil, cheese, relish, jams, honey and more. The Festival will also feature live music and plenty of activities for the kids and 12-tonne Tractor Pull, where competing teams can win $2000 cash.

Muckheap – a funny, physical and fantastically messy performance for the whole family presented by Polyglot.

The Centre, Beaudesert
Fri 28 June at 6pm
Adults $15 Child/Conc $10 Family of 4 $40 (save $10)

Eat Local Week, Young Chef’s Cooking Class

Boonah Cultural Ctr Wed 26 Jun 10am-12pm
The Centre, Beaudesert Wed 26 Jun 1.30-3.30pm
Vonda Youngman Ctr, Nth Tamborine Thur 27 Jun 3 Apr 10am-12pm

For children 8yrs+ $12
Bookings Essential – Limited Places
More Info Buy Tickets

Junk Puppetry Workshop
The Centre, Beaudesert Fri 28 Jun 3-4.30pm

Hands-on junk puppetry workshop with the performers
from the performance Muckheap!

For children 5+ years $15
Bookings essential – limited places.

Theatre Workshop – Commedia Dellarte
The Centre, Beaudesert Mon 1 Jul 10am-2.30pm
Boonah Cultural Centre Wed 3 Jul 10am-2.30pm
The Basement, Nth Tamborine Thur 4 Jul 10am-2.30pm

An exciting and hilarious day of fun!
For children 8-14 years $20
Bookings Essential – limited places

Stencil & Aerosol workshop with Mark Paddick
Vonda Youngman Ctr, Tamborine Mtn Wed 3 Jul 9.30-11.30am
The Centre, Beaudesert Wed 3 Jul 2-4pm

Learn new skills and take home some new artworks!
For children 8+ years $12
Bookings essential – limited places

Clay Animation Workshop
Boonah Cultural Centre Thur 4 Jul 9.30-11.30am

For all budding animators!
For children 7-12 years $12
Bookings Essential – limited places

Critters & Creatives
Boonah Cultural Centre Mon 24 Jun 10.30am-12.30pm
Vonda Youngman Ctr, Tamborine Mountain Wed 26 Jun 10.30am-12.30pm

Free event for families Please RSVP (07) 5540 5050
Furry & Scaley Critters: Art & Wildlife Experience!
Morning tea will be provided.

Films include Wreck-it Ralph, Rise of the Guardians, Escape from Planet Earth, Oz the Great and Powerful. Tickets are $5 (includes popcorn and a drink) and are available from the Box Office.

The school holiday Library program is jam-packed and features storytime, food art and crazy insanewich sandwich making sessions. Download the full program

To buy tickets or book a spot in any of these school holiday activities go to www.liveatthecentre.com.au  

Eat Local Week is a celebration of the people who produce food and wine in the region and offers unique opportunities to see how fresh food is produced. The event runs from June 23 to 30 and involves free or low-cost activities throughout the region. Most are very family friendly.

Sunday June 23
Zest Fest, Graceleigh Park Beechmont: This community festival celebrates the creativity, food, health and wellbeing of Beechmont. Activities offered for adults and children, as well as fresh food, entertainment and stalls. Runs from 9.30am to 4pm. Cost is $5 for adults, children are free.

Lillydale Farmstay: Meet the farmstay’s four-legged residents and at 11am learn how to make pesto. The café will be open for coffee, cold drinks, ice-creams and cakes. Free event. www.lillydale.com.au

Monday June 24
Binna Burra Bush Tucker Presentation, DJ Smith Memorial Park, Canungra: The Scenic Rim’s forests are bursting with bush foods, herbs and medicines. The Binna Burra Mountain Lodge guides will introduce you to some of the tastes and smells of the surrounding areas. Tour starts 11am on June 24, 26 and 28. Free event.

Tuesday June 25
Scenic Rim Robotic Dairy: QLD Minister for Agriculture, John McVeigh, will officially launch Scenic Rim 4Real Milk at the Tamrookum Robotic Dairy. Watch the milk production and bottling process on the farm at Queensland’s first robotic dairy. Free activity, open from 9am to 5pm. www.scenicrim4realmilk.com.au

Wednesday June 26
Kids Cooking Classes with Hinterland Harvest: Learn about fun, healthy eating using local produce and pick up some basic kitchen skills. Eat what you cook and take home a souvenir apron and recipes. Class runs from 10am to noon at the Boonah Cultural Centre and from 1.30pm to 3.30pm at The Centre Beaudesert. Cost is $12pp. Bookings essential, call 55405050. For ages 8 to 12 years. www.liveatthecentre.com.au

Bush Tucker Presentation: see above.

Towri Sheep Cheeses Farm Tour: Experience the award-winning sheep cheeses, watch a sheep milking demonstrations, feed the lambs and visit the cheese room. Cost is $20 for adults, $10 for children under 14. 10.30am to 1pm on June 26 and 27. Saville Rd, Allenview. Bookings preferred on 55431260. www.towrisheepcheeses.com.au

Thursday June 27
Kids Cooking Classes with Hinterland Harvest: Learn about fun, healthy eating using local produce and pick up some basic kitchen skills. Eat what you cook and take home a souvenir apron and recipes. Class runs from 10am to noon at the Vonda Youngman Community Centre North Tamborine. Cost is $12pp. Bookings essential, call 55405050. For ages 8 to 12 years.

Friday June 28
Binna Burra Bush Tucker Presentation, DJ Smith Memorial Park, Canungra: The Scenic Rim’s forests are bursting with bush foods, herbs and medicines. The Binna Burra Mountain Lodge guides will introduce you to some of the tastes and smells of the surrounding areas. Tour starts 11am on June 24, 26 and 28. Free event.

Saturday June 29
Kalfresh Carrot Field Day, Cunningham Highway Kalbar: Meet some the farmers, tour the factory and learn how to grow great carrots. Sit in the tractors and get your hands dirty in the paddocks when you pick your own bag of carrots. Runs from 9am to noon, cost is $5pp or $10 for a family. www.kalfresh.com.au

Wild Pizza, Mt Barney Lodge: Teenagers can discover the natural environment as they collect and handpick ingredients for wild pizzas, which are cooked in a traditional camp oven. Runs from 5pm to 7.30pm. Cost is $25pp. Bookings on 55443233. Suitable for people aged 13 to 17 years. www.mtbarneylodge.com.au

Winter Harvest Festival, Aratula Community Sports Complex: A family-friendly celebration of premium food and wine, produced by the Scenic Rim’s farmers and agribusinesses. Choose from a selection of tasting plates, stock up on local produce and enjoy live music, cooking demonstrations, kids activities and watch the Tractor Pulling competition. Enter a team of 12 for the chance to win $2000. Festival runs from noon to 5pm, entry is $10 for adults, children under 12 free. www.eatlocalweek.com.au

Sunday June 30
Market Day at the Organic Shed, Milford Rd, Boonah: Visit the organic she, enjoy local and organic produce, hear the live music and browse the market stalls. Runs from 8am to 1pm.

The full Eat Local Week schedule is available at www.eatlocalweek.com.au

The Escarpment Retreat was competing in the Hotel category, which pitted it against leading worldwide hotel chains.
DeliVino, the North Tamborine deli, café and bar was also awarded a Certificate of Excellence, an accolade which honours hospitality excellence and is only given to establishments which consistently achieve great traveller reviews.
Next time you are in the Scenic Rim call in and visit these award-winning operators.

The Winter Harvest Festival will feature producers, suppliers and retailers from across the region and will enable visitors to eat their way around the Scenic Rim. Tasting plates, wines and fresh produce will be on sale during the Harvest Festival, on Saturday June 29.

A highlight of the Harvest Festival will be the Tractor Pulling competition, a time trial race offering teams the chance to win generous cash prizes for their nominated local sporting club or community group.

The John Deere tractor, on loan from Kalfresh Vegetables, weighs 12-tonne and teams will compete to be the fastest to pull it over 20-metres. The Prize money of $2,000 has been sponsored by the Kalbar & District Community Bank.

“This Festival will serve the Scenic Rim up on a plate,” says Mayor John Brent.

“The Scenic Rim is a fertile region, responsible for feeding people throughout Queensland, Australia and abroad. Throughout the year the region produces a veritable smorgasbord of produce, including beef, pork, poultry, dairy, vegetables, olives, cheese and wine.

“The Winter Harvest Festival will showcase the diverse range of goods produced in the Scenic Rim and will celebrate the people responsible for growing, cooking and selling them.

“The Tractor Pull is a first and not only promises to be fun for both competitors and spectators, but it presents the chance for community and sporting groups to raise vital funds.

“The Winter Harvest Festival offers residents and visitors a chance to enjoy an authentic insight into the way their food and wine is produced, to meet the growers and the people who take the raw ingredients and transform them.

“I’m really excited about this event and hope it becomes a regular fixture on the Eat Local Week calendar.”

Eat Local Week runs from June 23 to 30 across the Scenic Rim. The week-long celebration of regional food and wine features farm tours, cooking classes, food and wine tastings and catered food events.

Find out more at www.eatlocalweek.com.au

Zest Fest organising team member Sally MacKinnon said, “this year Zest Fest is four years old and we’re continuing to expand our market stalls, community activities and conversations, kids program and live music.

“Our market stalls are not only bringing in Beechmont’s beautiful businesses but are stretching across the Scenic Rim region to include regional food and drinks, renewable energy, Aquaponics, Canungra State School’s Green Team and great arts and crafts. Our live music program showcases the Will Miller Three, Lily White, Afro Pulse drummers and Paul Robert Burton between midday and 4pm.

“In addition, at 11am Afro Pulse drummer Paul Bijkerk will be hosting a free community drumming workshop for up to 40 people called Drum Pulse – this will be a brilliant way to bring our community together in a creative and interactive way. We have a supervised Children’s Program including storytelling, music making and artwork activities.

“A Community Conversation program includes Cheesemaking and Community Gardening. This will run throughout the morning between 10am and midday. Beechmont State School P&C is operating a licensed bar from lunchtime. And of course, our beautiful local and regional artisans, foodies, crafters, health and wellbeing and sustainability practitioners will showcase their goods and services all day in our ‘village square’. It’s the only day of the year Beechmont has a main street and village centre.”

Zest Fest is organised by the Beechmont Area Progress Association (BAPA) to showcase the enterprising businesses, food producers and artisans of Beechmont and the Scenic Rim. Zest Fest is on Sunday June 23 between 9.30am and 4.30pm at the Hall on Graceleigh, 1922 Beechmont Rd, Beechmont. It will be officially opened at 10.20am by Scenic Rim Mayor John Brent and Councillor Virginia West. Entry is $5  for adults and children are free.

For more information go to the website

The week of cooking classes, farm tours, food and wine tastings and hosted dinners culminates in a Winter Harvest Festival on June 29.

Eat Local Week is a celebration of the people who produce food and wine in the Scenic Rim and recognition of the fact that agriculture and tourism are pivotal to the prosperity of the region, contributing more than $210-million annually to the regional economy.

Eat Local Week is a Scenic Rim Regional Council initiative but has been enthusiastically embraced by the Scenic Rim community since launching in 2011. The event encourages residents and visitors to the region to ask the questions – Where does your food come from and who produces it?

Scenic Rim Mayor John Brent, himself a third generation vegetable producer, says participants can meet the producers and follow the journey from paddock to plate.

“Brisbane and Gold Coast residents may not realise that much of the food they consume was grown in the Scenic Rim, which is located just one hour’s drive away,” says Cr Brent.

“We are fortunate to have such fertile farming land, closely located to the city and tourism and agriculture account for more than 30 per cent of the businesses operating in this region.

“Particularly between June and December the paddocks between Boonah and Aratula produce a diverse range of vegetables for markets in Queensland, Australia and overseas. Throughout the year our producers supply beef, pork, dairy products, chicken and boutique food and wine products to the market.

“Eat Local Week is a celebration of this industry and of the people who not only grow the food, but those who sell it. During the week participating cafes, restaurants and caterers are asked to make Scenic Rim food and wine a feature of their menus. It’s a great opportunity for visitors to learn first-hand how their food is produced and seek tips for impressing in the kitchen.”

Eat Local Week starts on Sunday June 23 with activities including the Beechmont Zest Fest, celebrating the homegrown enterprises of the mountain community. The popular event will feature cooking and horticulture demonstrations, live local music, market stalls and activities for children.

During the following week Eat Local Week will feature food and wine tasting events, cooking classes for adults and children, a communal brunch, and an opportunity to pick your own carrots and see what happens to them after they leave the paddock.

On Tuesday 25 June, Minister for Agriculture, John McVeigh will officially launch the Scenic Rim 4 Real Milk brand, created by Tamrookum dairy farmer Greg Dennis in response to the price pressures being placed on dairy farmers by major processors and retailers.

Finally on June 29 the event culminates in the Winter Harvest Festival at Aratula. The Festival will run from noon to 5pm at the Aratula Community Centre and will feature many of the region’s food and wine producers. Guests can buy a tasting plate, stock up on fresh local produce and gourmet products, including cheese, olives, olive oil, coffee, tea and much more.

The Winter Harvest Festival will also feature live music by local artists and plenty of activities for the kids.

A full schedule of Eat Local Week events is available here

Tickets to some events, including the Winter Harvest Festival, must be pre-booked.

Find out more about all of the Eat Local Week activities at www.eatlocalweek.com.au or by phoning 5540 5314.

Eat Local Week’s 2013 signature event, the Winter Harvest Festival at Aratula, is hoping to pull in the crowds with tonnes of fun.
Twelve tonnes to be precise, the weight of the John Deere tractor competitors are being challenged to drag as part of the Kalbar and District Community Bank Tractor Pulling Competition at the festival on Saturday, 29 June.
“We are encouraging teams of 12 to sign up for this great charity event and pit their combined strength against a tractor kindly supplied by Kalfresh,” Mayor John Brent said.
“The team which clocks up the fastest time moving the tractor over a distance of 20 metres will win a cash prize for their nominated sporting club or community group.
“It’s a great money spinner for your local club in exchange for a bit of sweat and muscle.” First prize in the event is $1000, second prize is $750 and third prize is $250.
Entry forms are available from the Kalbar and District Community Bank branch or by calling Council’s Sport and Recreation Officer on 5540 5057.
Kalbar and District Community Bank chairman Wilson Neuendorf said the organisation was pleased to be able to lend its support to the Winter Harvest Festival.
“This event will be a great celebration of the region’s farming and agri-business community,” he said.
Apart from enjoying the tractor pulling event, visitors to the festival will have the opportunity to sample a wide range of Scenic Rim-produced food and beverages and tasting plates will be available for sale from exhibitor stalls.
Local products and produce will also be on sale in a farmer’s market.
Throughout the day there will be live music and entertainment, celebrity chef cooking demonstrations and plenty of family friendly activities.
“This will be a great day out for Scenic Rim locals and visitors to the region and I would encourage everyone to get along and enjoy the produce and activities,” Cr Brent said.
To find out more visit www.eatlocalweek.com.au