CLEAR blue skies provided the perfect backdrop for this year’s Mallee Almond Blossom Festival.
Thousands of people converged on Robinvale at the weekend in celebration of the festival which aims to showcase the region’s diverse agricultural industry.
Celebrating its 7th year, the event attracted around 4000 people, including a number of interstate visitors.
A cool winter has resulted in a late start to the almond bloom which coincides with the festival each year, however that did not deter crowds.
Mallee Almond Blossom Festival committee member Quentin Norton hailed the event a huge success.
He said while this year’s event fell short of last year’s record breaking crowd, organisers were pleased with the turnout.
“We had visitors from Mildura, Swan Hill and Robinvale, as well as a large contingent from Melbourne,” Mr Norton said.
“We also had visitors from Queensland and Tasmania.”
The Robinvale district has been associated with almond growing since the late 1960s when 400 acres was planted.
A further 1600 acres was planed in the early 1980s with a processing factory built in 1985.
Today there are more than 4.5 million almond trees within the Robinvale district.
Mr Norton said each year the bus tours to local farms proved to be a highlight.
“We had five tours throughout the day and they were all booked out,” Mr Norton said.
This year’s tour embraced a new route with groups travelling to one of the region’s table grape packing facilities prior to visiting a local almond orchard.
Other highlights included the free entertainment, vibrant market stalls and annual bake-off challenge.
This year’s festival also included the inaugural Almond Cup — a twist on the traditional egg and spoon race — which saw competitors navigate their way through an obstacle course with a spoonful of almonds.
The novel race was also a major fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Hailing the event a huge success, Mr Norton paid tribute to the wider Robinvale community who threw their support behind the event each year.
