By MARG APPLEBEE CENTRAL WEST LACHLAN LANDCARE Homegrown Parkes Expressions of Interest close on Friday, February 21. We have been overwhelmed with applications for our March 29, Homegrown Parkes event. As everyone kicks back into the new year, school, work etc, we have been receiving more stallholder applications. If you have been tossing up whether to throw your towel in the ring, now is the time that the rubber hits the road. We are pleased to welcome some new stallholders this year. Some local, some regional. Our food vendors just about cover every type of request for brekky, morning tea and lunch….and something to take home for afternoon tea. We are estimating that our event will welcome approximately 2,500 – 3,000 people, based on our previous events. This will be an opportunity for local and regional businesses who are processing, repurposing, sewing, propagating or producing fabulous local products to share their skill and products. Applications are reviewed by our Homegrown Parkes Committee to ensure that they fit with the ethos of Homegrown Parkes. All stallholders and food vendors are required to provide $20 million insurance Certificate of Currency and food vendors need to supply their Food Safety Certificate. We will continue to place a small fee on stallholders for our October event. We want to keep the event as accessible as possible, particularly for small stallholders. The fee of $30 will assist with covering the costs to sustain the event. We have switched up the program slightly, but the good news is that we still have fabulous inclusions. All this with the intent of highlighting processes for using locally produced food and products with the aim of encouraging locals to have a go and grow in their own backyard, your cupboard or your porch and make it yourself. We want to keep these demonstrations and workshops as short, informative and entertaining as possible, so if there is a demonstration that you would like to see, make sure that you provide feedback after the event. The Homegrown Parkes Committee, made up of members of Central West Lachlan Landcare, Parkes Community Arts and Parkes Shire Council contributors, are looking forward to delivering two fabulous, encouraging and inspirational events in 2025. Applications can be found on our Homegrown Parkes page via the Central West Lachlan Landcare website. Don’t forget that Crop Swap will be part of our next event as well! For further information on this article, please go to www.centralwestlachlanlandcare.org, twitter, facebook or Instagram @cwllandcare
