Wondai Regional Art Gallery curator Elaine Madill will be holding a Progressive Dinner for locals and visitors in Wondai on the October long weekend

South Burnett and Cherbourg On ShowAugust 28, 2013

If you’re looking for an unusual way to dine out at three of Wondai’s icons in October, the Wondai Progressive Dinner may be the answer.

On Saturday October 5, a group of up to 50 revellers will converge on the South Burnett Region Timber Industry Museum at Wondai for pre-dinner nibbles around 5:30pm.

Then they’ll walk 100 metres up the road to the Wondai Regional Art Gallery for a main course and wine tastings, which will also allow them to take in the brand new 2013 South Burnett Regional Art Competition exhibition (which opened the night before).

Then they’ll wander another 100 metres across the Village Green for coffee and cake at the Wondai Heritage Museum while they inspect the huge array of exhibits which faithfully catalogue the town’s 110 year history.

The Progressive Dinner is the brainchild of Wondai Regional Art Gallery curator Elaine Madill.

And while it’s not the first progressive dinner ever held in the town, this one will be particularly special because it’s the first ever held in the middle of the new South Burnett-Cherbourg On Show long weekend.

“Wondai will have a lot of really wonderful things happening over the October long weekend,” Elaine said.

“On Friday night, October 4 we’ll be opening our annual South Burnett Regional Art Competition, and we’ve invited our region’s top indigenous band Muddy Flats back to provide the entertainment.

“The last time Muddy Flats performed at one of our opening nights (in July) the Gallery was packed out. They were absolutely fabulous.

“So we’ve asked them to make a return visit in October, and this time we’re catering for 120 guests at a minimum.”

On Saturday, the new Wondai Cellars will be opening at 12 noon after almost a year of renovation work on the 100-year old former Wondai Hotel.

The combination restaurant and wine bar will be putting on an afternoon of relaxed entertainment in their spacious back yard, coupled with the cutting of the town’s 110th Birthday Cake – and this will be followed by the Progressive Dinner in the evening.

And on Sunday, the Cellars will be offering a Country Brunch from 9:00am to 11:00am, followed by a good old-fashioned British Lunch between noon and 3:00pm.

“The Progressive Dinner is designed for locals and tourists,” Elaine said.

“It’s a great way to see three of our town’s biggest tourist attractions in a unique way. And because Wondai is The Friendly Town, it’s a pretty nice way too if you don’t know anybody.”

Tickets to the dinner are $20 per head and need to be pre-booked.

No BYO is allowed – Wondai Cellars will be supplying wine by the glass or bottle at the dinner – but dress is informal and there are no entrance fees to any of the three destinations.

Tickets can be obtained in person at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery, by phoning them on (07) 4168-5926 or by emailing them.