The time has nearly come for this year's Colac Otway Shire Australia  Day  celebrations at Birregurra.  It all kicks off at 10.30am and goes through to 3pm.

Grab some handmade soaps, a fabulous new cheeseboard, some artwork for your walls and some pressies to give your loved ones for their upcoming birthdays. Head over the road to check out the fantastic new pop up community gallery in the hall. Stick around town for lunch at Farm Foods, the Royal Mail Hotel or the newly opened Birre Bytes Cafe.

And then finish your shopping day at our fabulous Main Street traders. What's not to love!

In 2001, Andrew and Judith Goddard, moved over the hill from Lorne to fulfill their dream of creating an olive grove—planting 1350 olive trees on their new 16 acre farm in Old Lorne Road, Deans Marsh.

In 2004, they had their first olive picking and the tradition of a weekend at the olive grove began.
Pickers came from far and wide and so began the “Old Lorne Road Olives” business.

No strangers to the hospitality industry, the business quickly expanded—developing into a popular restaurant and gallery frequented by many locals and visitors, and featuring regularly in The Age's Good Food Guide.

In 2013, the couple decided to sell the business and 'downsize' to Birregurra— maintaining a commercial arrangement with the new owners to continue the production arm of Old Lorne Road Olive. So while Andrew and Judith kick back and enjoy a quieter pace of life in Birre, you can still find their popular range of olive products, including extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, olives and soap at local Otways markets, including this weekend's Birregurra Sunday Market.

Make sure you pop by and say hi Andrew and Judith. There are always tempting tasters of their products on hand and I challenge anyone to walk past their stall without being tempted to having a yarn with them about their goodies, blues music and living the dream in Birre!

Old Lorne Road Olives are members of the Otway Harvest Trail.

www.oldlorneroadolives.com.au
P: (03) 52 362 647
E: oldlorneroadolives@yahoo.com.au

 Join the Baby Boomers Duo, Craig Symons & Collin Galtry, at this week's Birregurra Sunday Market as they take you on a Musical Mystery Tour revisiting classic tunes & tales from the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s & 80's.

The weather looks great and there's plenty on offer as you wander the stalls picking up your favourite goodies and shaking your hips to some great toe tapping tunes. 

Tucked under a shady marquee beside the rotunda in Birregurra Park, you'll find artisan producers of fabulous organic preserves, vinegars and garlic, Ami & Frans Hillege. Their award winning produce, branded as Otway Fields, is always a tempting buy at Birregurra Market—great for tasty presents and even better for your own kitchen pantry.

Our favourite is their berry jams and black garlic salt, but you'll need to decide your favourite for yourself.

So, who are Otway Fields??

Small farmhouse producers of award winning preserves and vinegars, Ami & Frans Hillege, grow all their produce organically on their small farm, Otway Fields in the Victorian Otways.

Once they have harvested their fruit and vegetables, they create wonderful preserves using their produce, based on favourite family recipes. These delicious products are available under their 'Otway Fields' label each month at Birregurra Market.

Otway Fields was recently awarded SILVER for their Raspberry Vinegar Cordial from the Royal Melbourne Fine Foods Awards.

Otway Fields are members of the Otway Harvest Trail and also have B&B accommodation available at their farm (www.otwayfields.com).

Find out more and follow Ami and Frans's adventures on their farm at Ami's blog: Click here