Festiviteas at Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival

THE much-anticipated second Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival opened last week, attracting over 500 people through the doors of the Fish Creek Memorial Hall to view the entries in the Tea Cosy competition.

“The town has a real buzz to it; people have been coming from near and far, including locals, holiday-makers, visitors from Inverloch and Wonthaggi who have come over especially, and a full bus-load of people who came from Latrobe Valley last year came back again to see this year’s tea cosies on display,” said Festival committee member Deidre Granger.

“The Festival is fantastic for this little town, and there’s been so much enthusiasm for the Tea Cosy competition with entries from Victoria, interstate and even overseas, that it’s really putting Fish Creek on the map,” said fellow committee member Heather Gibson.

The Festival kicked off on Friday night with String Fever – a very talented duo whose combination of popular music and nouveau Vaudevillen comedy delighted everyone. The Tea Set Prohibition High Tea held on Saturday night was also a success, offering music from country to disco and everything in between by The Tea Set.

Madame Flavour (aka Corrine Noyes) officially opened the Festival on Saturday afternoon and announced the results of the competition, as judged by author/illustrator/artist Alison Lester. (See results below). The setting for the competition/exhibition is fitting, with the ceiling beautifully decorated by ex Fish Creek local, Daniel Ryan, who now lives in Melbourne.

Devonshire Teas were, of course, extremely popular, and the High Tea was enjoyed by many in the Art Deco style Fish Creek Hotel.

The theme of the Festival this year is ‘music,’ and what better way to take music to the streets than to have Bec Bone hold a music workshop! There was plenty of fun, noise, laughter and music and Bec led participants up and down the street with the instruments they had created themselves that morning.

On Sunday and Monday there were people pouring in to see the tea cosy entries.

“Determining the winners has been really difficult – there are some incredibly creative entries and overall, the standard of craftsmanship is outstanding; I’m looking for entries that you just can’t go past,” Alison said.

Alison explained that what she looked for in selecting the winners was a match for the category entered, for imaginative entries that really caught her eye, and also for colours and textures.

Results

Traditional (Senior) section:

1st Place – Jennifer Mallaby for Aussie Christmas. Honourable Mention (HM) – Bette McFarlane for Still Life, Margaret Rogers for Country Sky, Sandra Hatzis for Japanese Pinks and Reds, Shirley Evans for Pink Fairisle.

Traditional (Open) section:

1st Place – Leonie Margetts for My Giddy Aunt. HM – Heather Graham for Rainbow Delight, Sheila Ryan for Fleur De Teas.

Exuberant Whimsy section (Open):

1st Place – Elizabeth Conolly for Not On My Track, Mac. HM – Dianne Frey for Tee Cosy, Jocelyn Meyer for Valkyrie, Kelly Pruyn for Hoddle Hills, Margaret Noonan for Garden of Light, Heather Graham for Bits and Bobs and Rhonda Bourke for Carnival of Colour.

Exuberant Whimsy section (Senior):

1st Place – Cas O’Neill for Ping. HM to Barbara Perrett for Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden, Gwen Combridge for Owlie, and Phyllis Barlow for Christmas and Recycle Having Fun.

Exuberant Whimsy (Junior): 1st Place – Koonwarra village School for Woodland Home and also an HM for Mini Mouse House.

Butch section (Junior):

1st Place – Koonwarra Village School for Gingerbread House and also an HM for the One Storey Tree House.

Butch section (open):

1st Place – Kaye Whitney for The Shed. HM to Mary Macleish for Mucho Libre, Yanni Banikos for Billy Tea and Andrew McPherson for Steampunk Tea Cosy.

Butch section (Senior):

1st Place – Barbara Perrett for Butch The Donkey Down The Well. HM to Norm Biggs for Wood Tea.

Aquatic section (Open):

1st Place – Norma Brown for A Piscatorial Extravaganza. HM to Jen Mulqueeny for Blue Lagoon, and Tanja Aitchison for Can You Find Nemo.

Aquatic section (Senior):

1st Place – Jennifer Francis for Sea Bed. HM to Barbara Perrett for Gold Fish, and to Sally Gibson for Tentacles Galore.

The Festival continues until Sunday May 25, with Elders’ Day today (Wednesday), whee visitors from Gippsland’s nursing homes and retirement villages will be entertained by local kindergarten and school children.

Why not raise a cup and help beat cancer by enjoying a Biggest Morning Tea at the Fish Creek Hotel on Thursday, beginning at 10.30am? Organised by Trish McGannon, there will be good company, the warmth of a cosy fire, and raffles – and of course a cuppa. Proceeds will go to the Cancer Council.

On Friday May 23, the CWCI will host a ‘Slice of heaven’ morning tea with guest speaker Jessie Walter. BYO you heavenly slices to the Union Church from 10am to 12 noon. In keeping with all things ‘tea’ related, two films, ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘Saving Mr Banks’, will be screened at the hall, starting at 4.30pm on Friday May 23.

A Makers’ Fair will be held on the Village Green on Saturday May 24 from 10am to 3pm, with stalls from local artisans, entertainment from local musicians and street performers, tea cosy games and much more. Also on Saturday will be the Children’s Cafe, an age appropriate cafe / art space for story-telling and painting.

Are you always being told you have a great singing voice, or can really strum a tune? Here’s your chance for 10 minutes of fame in which to impress the crowds – and prizes will be awarded based on the response of the audience. The Talent Show will be held on Saturday from 4pm to 6pm at the Memorial Hall, hosted by Anne Norman, the star of last year’s festival. Visit the website at teacosyfestival.com.au for an entry form.

What goes best with a cup of tea? A scone with jam and cream – popularly known as a Devonshire Tea will be available at the Fish Creek Memorial Hall on Sunday from 2pm to 4pm.

Always wanted to know how to start a biodynamic compost heap but were too scared to ask? BYO garden fork and gloves and learn hands-on from Jacquie Dargaville at the Fish Creek Community Garden on Sunday May 25 from 2pm to 4pm. Or if that’s a little too energetic, you are welcome to watch and pick up some tips.

From talent shows to tea, compost to creativitea, the fun of the Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival continues until Sunday May 25 and the Tea Cosy exhibition is on display daily from 10am to 5pm.Everyone is urged to go along and see the entries in the competition for themselves – you’ll never look at the humble tea cosy in the same way again!

Comments are closed.