Citrus Fest is aimed at slashing food waste. Photo: Kellie O’Brien.
Every winter, tonnes of perfectly good citrus fall from Kangaroo Valley’s backyard trees and orchards, only to rot where the fruit lands.
Acclaimed chef and food sustainability leader Angie Prendergast-Sceats is determined to change that, launching the inaugural Citrus Fest to celebrate the region’s abundant harvest while tackling food waste one lemon at a time.
Running from Friday to Sunday (31 July — 2 August), the grassroots, three-day festival is dedicated to salvaging the fruit from citrus trees and celebrating community resilience.
Angie is no stranger to fighting food waste on a major scale.
Long before launching The Valley Table, she was a driving force in Australia’s food sustainability movement, spearheading food rescue events with the Youth Food Movement (YFM) and championing the NSW EPA’s “Love Food Hate Waste” initiative.
She was also the co-founder of social enterprise Two Good Co, using food to heal and support vulnerable communities.
“It broke my heart moving to the valley and seeing so much beautiful produce go unused year after year, especially when I’ve spent my entire career building systems to prevent exactly this kind of waste,” Angie said.
“Citrus Fest was born out of a simple idea: how can we come together as a community, share skills, and make sure we preserve, taste and celebrate every single piece of produce our valley gives us?”
The program will combine hands-on learning, culinary experiences and fun family activities, all based out of the Kangaroo Valley Hall and farms across Kangaroo Valley.
On Friday, a self-drive farm and orchards tour will help people learn the ropes of growing citrus.
This will be followed by the flagship Citrus Without Borders Dinner, where Angie will host a globetrotting four-course feast with a cocktail on arrival.
Preserve Your Crop Workshops will be held on Saturday, supported by the Kangaroo Valley Agricultural Show, at the hall.
These will cover everything from marmalades and fermented sodas to citrus-infused skincare and essential oils.
They will be followed by the Citrus After-Dark Cocktail Crafting Workshop with botanical legends Trolley’d.
On Sunday, the festival will include a hands-on Kids Citrus Craft & Discovery Workshop exploring lemon batteries and stamp art.
Wrapping up the weekend, a community Citrus Cake Swap & High Tea invites participants to bring their home-grown citrus, preserves, and plates to share over provided tea and coffee.
With limited seating across the events, people are encouraged to secure their place at the inaugural festival.
Tickets, full program passes and workshop registrations for Citrus Fest are available online for the event at the Kangaroo Valley Hall and surrounding Kangaroo Valley farms from 31 July to 2 August.
Original Article published by Kellie O’Brien on Region Illawarra.
