May 22, 2012
Pumpkin rolling only comes around once a year, but when it does everyone joins in and heads for Goomeri.
The Goomeri Pumpkin Festival – now in its 16th year – has earned a reputation for good fun, great entertainment and zany events. And it’s on again this Sunday, May 27.
The Festival will kick off on Saturday night with an old-time licensed dinner dance at the Goomeri Hall of Memory. After a three-course meal that begins with pumpkin soup, popular band Ricochet will be providing the after-dinner entertainment.
And if you bring your wallet with you, you can also bid for a camel to ride in Sunday’s Pumpkin Festival street parade (the funds raised from this auction are donated to a selected charity each year).
More than 200 market stalls will line the streets and fill Goomeri’s parks from 6:00am on Sunday, displaying everything from arts and crafts through to handmade clothing, furniture, cakes, jams and chutneys and fruit and vegies.
There’ll also be live musical entertainment and roving musicians prowling the streets; stilt walkers; whip-cracking displays; Old Macdonalds Farm Animal Nursery; cooking demonstrations from well-known South Burnett chef Jason Ford; the Dreamtime Reptile Show; the Gleneden Bullock Team; popular bush poet and horseman Guy McLean fresh back from the USA; a Pumpkin Power Shotput competition; camel rides; lots of pumpkin foods; and lots more.
At 2:00pm, the Great Australian Pumpkin Roll will be held on Policeman’s Hill, with hundreds of keen pumpkin rollers trying to get their pumpkin as close as possible to the $1000 lucky spot at the base of the hill.
And this year, one new feature that’s sure to draw a crowd is “Scone-A-Cop“, where a brave local policeman will face down a crowd armed with pumpkin scones with only a Stop sign to defend himself.
You can get a full list of events, make a booking for the Pumpkin Festival Dinner Dance and/or get registration details for the Great Australian Pumpkin Roll on the Festival’s website or by phoning (07) 4168-1925.
[Photo: www.goomeripumpkinfestival.com.au]
