The population of Mundubbera ballooned like Violet from Willy Wonka over the weekend as visitors flocked to the tiny town for its first ever blueberry festival.
Foodies made the trip from the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, Brisbane and as far as Tully to the community, four hours north of Brisbane, to get their fix across Friday and Saturday.
Mundubbera Enterprise Association president and event coordinator Melinda Thorburn said their inaugural event, which marked the peak of harvest in the North Burnett, was a great success.
"I couldn't be happier with the way it all happened," Ms Thorburn said.
"The feedback that we've received - from the people that attended, to food vans, stallholders and anybody that was an integral part of it - is that they were very happy with the outcome."
The organiser said the town was deeply affected by closed borders during the height of the pandemic.
Farmers were forced to discard tonnes of valuable fruit as the picking was typically done by backpackers and overseas workers.
She said the new festival was an important event for locals to stimulate the visitor economy.
"The whole purpose of having this festival was to bring an economic stimulus to everyone, whether you're a business, an individual or a community organisation. Everyone gets a share of the pie, and that happened," she said.
The weekend was jam packed with events, including an evening of feasting on local produce under the stars with the Gastronomical Delight by Night on Friday.
Held at a mystery location, which was revealed to be the packing shed at Ironbark Citrus, organisers filled busses with 180 people.
"There were only five locals - the rest were from out of town. That was just perfect, because those people then travelled up and down the main street visiting our businesses," Ms Thorburn said.
Bicentennial Park on the banks of the Burnett River played host to artisan markets and free family fun at the Berry Big Day Out on Saturday, before the Blueberry Jam Sesh kicked off at the Mundubbera Community Hall.
Russell Morris headlined the festival, playing to 550 punters alongside Jem Cassar-Daley, Creedence Clearwater Revival Music Show and Anna Farquhar.
"Everybody lifted and the performance they gave was just amazing. We just haven't had anything like that in Mundubbera," Ms Thorburn said.
The festival will go ahead as a biannual event, with planning for 2024 already underway.
IN THE NEWS:
Brandon Long
Brandon Long is a Queensland Country Life journalist based in Toowoomba.
Brandon Long is a Queensland Country Life journalist based in Toowoomba.
