TatFest, a typical country festival

Where is the best place to find an awesome Devonshire tea ?

Well in my opinion, it is a small country town and it is so much better if there is a festival or market happening.

And we were very fortunate as we  found a very tasty plate of scones at Tatfest.

Autumn is a wonderful time in Victoria, and so many towns take full advantage of  the cloudless blue skies and warm sun , to throw out the welcome mat to those tourists exploring the countryside.

If you are travelling around the country, or just wanting to take a day trip away from your home town, then it is not hard to find a festival or market being held somewhere close by.

The annual festival held at Tatura piqued our interest so we decided to wander across to the Goulburn valley town and experience it ourselves.

TatFest is held at Mactier Park , which is graced by tall trees and a large expanse of lush green grass.
What a wonderful surrounding to sit , relax and enjoy the music , or wander around and take in all the stalls.

We arrived right on lunch time and a quick look around soon proved that the lunch choice was going to be a difficult one, as the menu options were many and varied.

Do I have a spring roll or perhaps a lamb roll , or just go straight to dessert and have pancakes. But I saw that the line for baked potatoes had shortened so I joined the queue. I am a sucker for a good baked potato, and hearing the whispers from those in close proximity, it was settled that Karen's Baked Potato stand was the right place for me. A fresh from the oven baked potato topped with all the trimmings and a bottle of icy water and my lunch was organised. Hubby chose a lamb roll and there were no complaints from him either.

A chair in the shade , enjoying a nice lunch while listening to the buskers and chatting to a friend made for a memorable lunch. 

Two friends relaxing and enjoying a chat

Kids on the grass next to us were having a ball, rolling around and pushing each other over with such vigour that you would swear that there would be broken bones. But no, they were  all safely encased in Sumo Wrestling suits. What a great activity to keep the kids entertained while families relaxed. 

At the back of the park were the Zorb balls. Kids climbed in and ran around inside them to propel themselves along the grass. It reminded me of my childhood when I ran inside an old water tank to race it down the hill near my home. I do think the plastic walls of the Zorb Balls looked a lot safer than the metal  walls of an old water tank.



















The abseiling wall was also getting a continuous use. I guess it wasn't really that high and it was being manned very safely but certainly not the type of activity for this senior person. Those that had a go seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The S.E.S and CFA did a great job with their displays in this area.

Next stop is  the petting zoo. This activity is much quieter and the very young toddlers have a great time patting the goats and rabbit.

The younger family members  had so many things to check out, I would think that by Sunday evening there would be many tired little bodies around.

We can hear the whoosh of a flame so wander over to check out the noise. And in the carpark is the RAAF guys with their Hot Air Balloon. Sunday was too gusty for the balloon to be used so there were no tethered flights available, but there was still information shared and you had the chance of standing in the balloon basket. 
We had a fun time chatting with these guys. Great ambassadors for the Airforce.

               https://www.airforce.gov.au/displays/air-force-balloon

While I was standing in line waiting for my baked potato, I started chatting to the lady behind me and she was informing me that she was one of the volunteers serving Devonshire tea.
So now was a suitable length of time between lunch and afternoon tea to hunt out these home made scones.
Tables and chairs were set up in the Tatura Senior Citizens club rooms, and for the price of $5 you were served a cup of tea or coffee and home made scones , with home made jam and nice thick cream. So glad that I chatted to Veronica whilst waiting in line for my lunch.

Oh , so very, very tasty. And so much better than mass produced scones.

Veronica and Kaye serving the Devonshire tea

The bright shine of the jewellery and the pleasant smell of candles enticed you along the path to check out those displays. The naturopath tent was informative and I tried some tea made with fennel , which brought back  memories of my Father as he used to grow it back in the 1980's. We left with some tea samples : I wonder if they will help my insomnia. 



All in all TatFest was a very enjoyable day. It was not expensive and there was plenty of entertainment for all ages.



Congratulations to all those involved and thank you to all the sponsors , as without sponsorship, these events would not happen. 
And as a tourist , it gives us a reason to visit other towns.



With all our grey nomads and retirees  travelling around , I think a country fair , market or festival is a great place to sit back and relax while learning about the area .