Hurstbridge Wattle Festival

The Hurstbridge Wattle Festival is held the last Sunday in August each year.

It's a joyous celebration of Hurstbridge's unique Australian heritage, environment, and community.

It's a chance for locals to come out of winter hibernation and celebrate the joys of living in Melbourne's green wedge in the Diamond Valley. This annual event in Hurstbridge began in 2004 and has grown in strength each year. The 2020 & 2021 festivals moved online, trying to bring the joy of the festival to our community even during COVID. Available all year round, the online festival gave you the chance to explore the township of Hurstbridge—shops, community groups and activities.

Hurstbridge Festival website.

2018 Wattle Fairy Godmother

This was my first year volunteering to perform as the Wattle Fairy Godmother. My duties, beyond adding colour to the festival, included handing out festival maps, directing people to the Hurstbridge Hub, and giving lollies to the children. I believe strongly in community engagement, and of course it's fun.

2019 Wattle Fairy Godmother

I had two concerns from the previous year, which we addressed. My first concern was that not all children could or should be given sugary foods. The Hurstbridge Hub organisers and myself brainstormed the idea to give out funny stickers instead.

My other concern was that despite the costume, I was still a stranger handing things out. I needed some sort of official designation that parents could trust. I have done children's activities before for places like the Heidelberg Museum of Modern Art. I have also been a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters. So, I keep and maintain a Working with Children Check. The Nillimbik Council also had me take a short course in how to deal with health and other emergencies. They then gave me a volunteer certification card that I wore on a lanyard during the festival.

2020 Wattle Fairy Godmother

Due to lockdown I volunteered to do a virtual reading of children's books as part of an online Wattle Festival. I used my own installation of BigBlueButton: an open source virtual classroom application designed for online education. It's child friendly and protects everyone's privacy.

One feature that was fun to use was the whiteboard facility. I uploaded an outline of a kangaroo which the children could colour in while I read various books.

I read for two sessions, two hours each.

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