The time has come to prepare the calendar for the Lilydale Township Action Group’s end-of-year celebration, as the fourth annual Lilydale Melba Festival and Street Fair is only months away.
Its return in 2025 marks an incredible journey of expansion and community recognition, as the event continues to grow in size and participation.
Street Fair founder and lead organiser Bec Rosel said the annual event has gotten to a stage where stallholders and performers are coming to her, not the other way around.
“When we had our first one in 2022, we had like 60 stalls, and that was huge back then. Now we have well over 100, and I have to turn people away,” she said
“Already, three months out, the main stage performance schedule is fully booked. And again, I didn’t have to reach out. People want to be involved.”
Bec said the Kinley Main Stage this year has a great mix of up-and-coming performers and established artists, as well as crowd favourites from primary and secondary school acts.
For the first time, Indigenous culture and heritage will be interwoven into the day in a small but significant way.
“This is the first year we’ve implemented that, and it won’t be in a massive way, but on the main stage, in the parade, and we’ll have workshops and storytelling throughout the day, and then next year we’ll be building on that,” Bec said.
Championing the history of Lilydale has become a large part of the Festival, evidenced last year by the name change to acknowledge Dame Nellie Melba.
Partnering with the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum and She Shapes History, the festival will help celebrate the closure of the two-month-long exhibition Badass Women of the Yarra Ranges.
She Shapes History founder Sita Sargeant will host a talk on the main stage, followed by a floor talk at the Museum as part of the closing event for the exhibition.
Visitors will also be able to collect a driving tour map to explore women’s histories throughout the region in their own time from the Museum or the Lilydale Historical Society stall.
The much-loved 10am street parade, CFA open day and the designated family and children’s zone, with the Jitter Bugs Kids Disco, activities, face-painting and more, will all make a return to the program.
Lilydale’s outdoor pool will open early again this year for the Lilydale Pool Party from 12pm to 3pm.
With local vendors opening on the day and food trucks setting up, no one will go hungry, with so many delectable options to choose from.
The Wonderific roaming performers will also make a return, keeping people entertained throughout the day across the whole festival.
And don’t forget to start planning your dog’s costume, with the fashion parade for best-dressed pet, sponsored by Claws and Paws Pet Supplies Montrose, ready to see some furry fashionistas on the runway.
With this year’s event being hosted on the first Sunday of December, the same date as the monthly Lilydale Rotary Craft and Produce Market, Bec said the two entities have decided to collaborate for the event.
“This is the first year that we’ve clashed with it. So we invited them to be part of our event,” she said.
“Rotary has come on board, and some of their market stall holders that would have been at their event are now going to be amalgamated into ours.
“The Christmas market is one of their big fundraising opportunities. So we want to really emphasise the benefit of Rotary to the community because a lot of people, I don’t think, are really aware of what Rotary does because it’s an international organisation, but locally, they’re very important too.”
Volunteers, Bec said, are integral to not only the Festival but also so many organisations like Rotary across Lilydale.
Community groups and organisations from across the suburb and region will have stalls set up on the day for people to engage and learn about opportunities in the community.
“We want to really encourage people to look into Rotary, to become volunteers, and volunteer in general.
“We definitely want to put a call out to volunteers for not only our event, but I think, to anything that they can do in the community, because volunteers are at such a shortage, and organisations like Rotary need volunteers. And then obviously, things like our event can’t happen without volunteers.”
Bec said a lot of this wouldn’t have been possible without the grant from Yarra Ranges Council, nor the support of the Lilydale Township Action Group.
Counting down the days until 7 December, Bec said all she hopes for is good weather and even better vibes.
“Last year was perfect. If we can achieve last year in every capacity, in the smoothness of how it ran, in the vibe on the day, the weather on the day, the feedback after the day, just the total joy of it all, if we can replicate that, which I anticipate we can, then I’ll be really super happy.”
To enquire about volunteering, contact Bec via email at rosel.bec83@gmail.com
