|
The Willunga Almond Blossom
Festival History...
Vision and Commitment Pay Off...
Reminiscing 1969-1979 by Margaret Offe, member of the hall committee and
one of the original volunteers...
The need... Willunga Almond Festival was begun by
people of the Willunga District in 1969, to raise the substantial amount
of money required to replace the very elderly and inadequate Willunga Town
Hall and the galvanised iron supper room (booth), toilets and other
facilities.
Almonds... Almonds were the primary pursuit at the
time, over 1300 acres providing a magnificent spectacle of pink and white
blossom during July that was attracting increasing numbers of visitors.
An Almond Blossom Festival was deemed the best way to capitalise on these
trends.
In the beginning... The first Almond Blossom
Festival Balls were held in the
old hall with supper in the booth, but these were soon outgrown.
The South Australian Tourist Bureau initially insisted the
Willunga people were incapable of running such an event and for many
years, gave little support. Fair days were originally chosen
according to the season, to ensure visitors came at the height of the
blossom. Later when the South Australian Tourist Bureau accepted us, the festival
became set at the last week of July, so it could be included in the
bureau's calendar.
The Festival Ball... The highlight of the festival
was the Festival Ball and the crowning of the Almond Blossom Queen.
The girls raised money though dinners, fashion parades, street stalls and
raffles. Later, Miss Almond Blossom and Miss Charity were chosen at a
cocktail party prior to the Ball with the help of VIP judges.
Learning curve... The early committees had
much to learn, coordinating the many groups and events, working out
effective catering practices and so on. One year the committee was
devastated by the flu. Another time, one member involved with
catering, much to the frustration of the rest of the committee, kept
buying in extra food, so stressed was he by the possibility of a
shortfall!
The Marquee one year, was not very water tight and heavy rain produced the
hilarious use of umbrellas by the visitors inside as they tried to
protect themselves and their food... and stir up the organisers!
How do you tell if the barbequed chops were too
tough? Look at the paper plates afterwards and see if they were cut
though! Fair Day stalls were run by local clubs and on wet
days, baskets of unsold sausages, bread rolls etc were hawked around the
thin crowd.
Establishment... Within a few years, the
Festival week became so popular that over 500 barbeque lunches a day were
being cooked by the local Lions Club along with a similar number of
Devonshire teas. This work was all done by a group of local
volunteers.
Bus Tours... Over several weeks, dozens of buses
toured the district's 100's of acres of blossom, especially on Sundays.
Initially, Devonshire teas were provided by the Willunga High School.
All the scones and jam were home made. If trade exceeded supply,
extras were hurriedly baked in the school's home economics ovens!
Festival Weekend… The Old Town Hall and booth
quickly became unable to cope with the 600 plus attendees at the Ball and
a large marquee, tables, chairs and crockery had to be hired. Six
hundred hungry people meant the heating of 1800 pastries (initially in a
very antiquated oven). Locals baked magnificent cakes and turned
dozens of loaves into sandwiches. Volunteers would be cleaning up from the
Ball from early next morning and preparing for Sunday's Fair Day
activities.
Delicious home made almond soup became the trade mark
Willunga Festival delicacy. The Street Parade with the Almond
Blossom Entrants taking pride of place, quickly became one of the
highlights of the weekend. It is now one of the largest street
parades in South Australia.
Vision and work pays off... Ten years of vision,
commitment and dedication paid dividends. In 1979 the finances
raised through the Willunga Almond Blossom Festival and many other
fund raising activities culminated in the opening of the current Willunga
Recreation Centre (stadium)
along with the purchase of our own equipment. The Willunga
Recreation Centre (stadium) along with
the many other improvements that have been able to be made, as the result
of a town pulling together and doing the impossible, has provided the
Willunga district with a flexible sporting and social venue that has
served and will continue to serve the community for years to come.
It is owned by Willunga community, something unique in these times.
Without the continuing vision of the locals it could easily have been
lost to outside control.
The future... Vision is a living thing. If you
are a local: Enjoy Willunga's recreation facilities.
Appreciate them and the work that has produced them. Now… Help keep
up the momentum. Do for future generations what others have done for
you...
Click to...
Festival
Programme...
Festival
Sponsors... Festival
Tickets & Contacts...
InaNutshell for more Festival event details... Top of page
Home
page
| 
