Calendar
Thorpdale News is distributed Bi-Monthly, the third Friday the underlined month of February/March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October and November/December
Newsletter Deadlines
Easy Peasy - Always the second Friday the months underlined above with distribution being the third Friday that month excluding April. No issue is produced in January* (we all need a bit of a break!)
Sporting Clubs are given until the Monday following the deadline to provide details - due to weekend games.
Thorpdale Potato Festival
The 27th Thorpdale Potato Festival returned on Labour Day Sunday in 2017. We certainly had a fantastic day again in 2017 after a rocky weather start, with our very special guest in Miguel Maestre from "The Living Room". Miguel charmed the thousands of people who flocked through the gates - with his infectious laughter and delightful character. Miguel participated in the Hessians on the Field in a costume made by the Editor - a chef's outfit - and was a big hit. He posed for dozens of 'selfies' with folk who instantly recognised him, and even cooked some chips to carry around and offer to the crowd. One of those TV stars who is even better than they look on TV! The whole crew came down from Sydney for the weekend and spent the Saturday doing some extra filming on a local farm with a local (talented and witty farmer), having lunch with the family and Miguel trying on his hessian outfit. "Oh Barbara, you haven't allowed for my Spanish thighs!" - what a character. We were given all of this free of charge too.
The 28th Thorpdale Potato Festival, held on Sunday 10 March 2019 was a resounding success and felt by all to be the best ever. Once all the bells had stop ringing and the whistles piping, and everyone had settled down, the Committee added up the takings and was able to distribute the incredible sum of $53,167 to 17 community groups for projects ranging from annual printing costs (Narracan News) to major lighting upgrades (Thorpdale Recreation Reserve). Truly an outstanding result. Congratulations to everyone involved - a fantastic effort.
Unfortunately, the 2021 29th Thorpdale Potato Festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it was indeed a very good decision due to the lockdowns we suffered in 2020. The Committee met in March 2021 and sadly made the further decision that due to further lockdowns happening and the chance that this could go on for quite a long time, we could not promise a Festival until March of 2023. All Committee members were very unhappy to have to make this decision but had to take into account the economic turndown suffered by the general public as well as our very important and faithful sponsors.
Back again in 2023, the 29th Thorpdale Potato Festival was the biggest one ever, with over 12,000 people flocking to the Thorpdale Recreation Reserve on a fine day to enjoy all the fun provided. The potato was, of course, the star of the day and the old favourites were back with the highlight of the day being the Vin Rowe Spud Challenge. The seemingly invincible Mitch Gorman once again took out the Challenge, blitzing the competition - he is the one to beat! Crowds watched with ecitement as the Spud Picking events were held with kids, women and professionals all testing their skills. The professionals even showed they could sew up a sack again - not something that you see that much of these days. Hessians on the Field was not as widely contested as it was in 2017 but the creativity was delightful. While the exciting Woodchop wasn't there due to a shortage of hardwood, there were two amazing chainsaw artists stunning the crowds as they carved out six spectacular pieces which were then raffled off to six lucky folk. Once again, all children's activities were included in the cost of the family tickets, so parents weren't having to continually dip their hands in their pockets. Such a change! Sheep shearing demos, working dogs (herding ducks would you believe?), an Industry Tent with fascinating cooking demonstrations, a wacky Italian magician/comic, a petting zoo, TC Trickz - an international motor cycle group, CFA demonstrations, tug-of-war, Animals of Oz and novelty evens for the children (including the ubiquitous potato sack races - all this and nearly 100 market stalls and oodles of food and drink outlets. Check out our Feb/Mar/April Archive page to see the cover photo (drone shot courtesy of the PR Officer of the Festival Committee) and a few Festival photos inside. Phew - what a day - such fun. There was just over $70,000 distributed to community groups - see the May/June issue for a detailed list as well as a photo of the delighted recipients at the gala event.
The 30th Thorpdale Potato Festival was held on March 9, 2025 which turned out to be an extremely HOT day. Attendance was down on the last Festival with 6,500+ people coming through the gates, but once again there was plenty to see and do as our Feb/March cover shows. Animals, Fashion, Food, Drink, Children's attractions/Activities (all free) and of course the SPUD. The pallet throw was a highlight - 19 pallets once again being achieved seemingly easily with 20 nearly attained.
A Grants Presentation evening was held at the end of June where community groups were presented with certificates denoting the amount they had been awarded from the Festival profits. The Vice-President was delighted to announce that over $50,000 had been distributed to the community from the 2025 Festival.