Well, another year has come and gone for the Lilydale Melba Festival and Street Fair, but its organisers, volunteers and attendees will be riding the high until 2026’s event.
A day that started “fresh and clear” with patches of sunshine, blue sky and the occasional cloud, couldn’t have been better for the annual event on Sunday 7 December.
Lead organiser Bec Rosel said they “hit the jackpot” on the weather front, which made all the difference to the festival’s atmosphere and success.
“That has got to be the biggest crowd that we’ve had, and it was amazing to see,” she said.
“From the get-go, from nine o’clock, all the way through till after three, it was just consistent. There were just people coming in from every entrance and direction.”
Bec said all throughout the day, energy levels were high, and “it was just so joyful”, not just in the heart of town, but in the quieter spots as well.
“It spilled over and really overflowed into greater Lilydale, which is always our want, to have the festival in the heart of Lilydale, but then really move into the other areas of Lilydale because, as we know, it’s a very vast and spread out space, and I think it’s really starting to do that.
“So it was just such a vibe and a buzz.”
From what she could gauge from conversations with attendees, Bec said the festival was truly becoming an annual tradition, “one that people mark in their calendars”.
But of course, there were people who experienced it for the first time this year, commenting on how much they enjoyed it and that they “couldn’t believe we had this in Lilydale”.
Hard to pinpoint just one highlight with so much to be proud of, Bec said, for her, getting a moment to stand back and take it all in is one of her favourite parts of the day.
“As an overall surveyor of the day, when I get a moment to just stand there and look out and take in the colour and the sound and the sights and the activity of the whole space, community spirit, and it always sounds a little bit cliche, but that is the one thing that really sums up our event,” she said.
“It’s the coming together of people and in a way that’s very natural, very free and very diverse. The diversity of the community that you see there is so awesome.
“The diverse nature of people that seem to be drawn to our event for whatever reason, it’s that inclusion and that social sense of belonging that I feel people get from being there and that I get from looking out across the space.”
From the crowd’s perspective, Bec said the parade this year was certainly well-attended and enjoyed.
“There were so many people there, ready and waiting for the parade to come through. And it was just a really great amalgamation of colour and sound and diversity in the parade this year.
“I want that to become a real feature of our event. There’s so much more that we can and will include in the parade year on year but that was a huge highlight. It was so amazing to see so many people come to see that and be part of that and really lining the streets.”
And of course, the Kinley Stage was again enjoyed by all, with Bec saying it became a hub for people, whether lounging on the grass or using one of the picnic tables to watch and listen to the performances.
Bec said there was a variety of performers and acts this year, really catering to everyone’s tastes but the young people were incredibly impressive.
“All of our performers are so incredible. The kids that get up there, the high school bands are just the next level,” she said.
“Their confidence and their spirit and their clear passion for what they do, they’re to be commended, because they really brought so much to the stage and gave themselves to their performance, which was wonderful.”
Without the support and effort of around 25 volunteers, Bec said the event would not have been possible.
But it is their continued positive attitude that Bec was yet again grateful for.
“Our team, they’re all over it, and they are so generous, and they are so happy, and their energy is so abounding, and they get in there, and they help everyone, and they organise everyone, but with such inclusion, such grace and humility, they’re just there to help, and I absolutely love that.
“So many of them have been there from the very beginning, and I’m so grateful for our new volunteers this year who just jumped on board and got in there, and they just had boundless energy throughout the day.”
The Lilydale Melba Festival and Street Fair was made possible thanks to the Lilydale Township Action Group and Yarra Ranges Council, who have jumped on board for 2026.
