2018 Pumpkin Festival

Ecological footprint market

We are Encompass Community Services, a local non-profit organisation supporting people with disabilities and disadvantaged backgrounds for over 30 years. We pride ourselves in providing universal opportunities for all and in shaping sustainable local communities.

For the 4th year in a row, we are having the Pumpkin Fair, an event put together by people of all abilities and backgrounds. This year, as we focus on sustainable living, we have added Ecological Footprint Market in all our promotional initiatives, with the aim to encourage everyone to take that bold step in accelerating sustainable living practices in their everyday lives.  We are doing this in partnership with the Leopold Community and Learning Centre.

The fair is on Saturday 24th March, 10am to 3pm, at our 7-acre farm The Paddock on O’Halloran Rd (off Melaluka Rd) in Leopold. This is where we grow our pumpkins and other produce. They are fresh, spray free and grown using no chemicals! We do conduct farm tours on fair day and also allow the public to pick their own produce. We even have a wood oven that is fired up on the day to make pizzas (toppings are from the farm itself – a total paddock to plate experience). We have chickens as well; and free range eggs are available at the fair.

Apart from the usual fair staples (live music/entertainment, sausage sizzle, market stalls, face painting, spinning wheel, raffle, etc), we are having interactive children’s activities and running sustainable living workshops too.

Some children’s activities include: creating/making items from recycled materials, planting succulents in a teapcup and more! A few sustainable living workshops include: pickling, making your own beer bread, prune & espalier your fruit trees, aquaponics, no dig garden, plant propagation, ricotta cheese making and more!

Using the herbs and produce from our farm, our life skills support program, Options and Connections, is making tea (peppermint, chamomile, lemon balm), oils (rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon balm, lavender), lavender sugar (a more flavourful alternative to your usual sugar), pumpkin spice and relishes.

Live entertainment on the day includes an amazing interactive wildlife show by The Rookepers (from 1.30pm), singer/songwriter Joni Gardner, acoustic duo Salted Fish, GSODA, Geelong Lyric, Options & Connections Dance Group, Encompass Refashion Parade Team and With One Voice – Geelong.