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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-09-13 Daily Xml
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Auburn Frenchfest

Ms PRATT (Frome) (15:11): I want to take this opportunity to celebrate the fantastic second season of the Auburn Frenchfest that took place for 2½ days on the weekend. The festival that was the brainchild of the Auburn Progress Association, establishing a subcommittee and imagining and aspiring for the Clare Valley a festival that had not existed five years before but, with hard work, with creativity, with persistence and, very importantly, with sponsorship, we now mark the second year of the festival.

I really want to congratulate and recognise the chairperson of the Auburn Frenchfest, Rhonda Seymour, as well as Kathy Adams and the committee members. Without their dedication, a festival like this just would just not be possible. The entire town turned itself inside out for the second time in a row, being strewn with bunting and the colours of the French flag—the bleu, blanc et rouge—wrapped around Stobie poles and shopfronts in the lead-up to this festival. It really created a fantastic atmosphere for the town.

It is a centrally located town in our valley, so there was no escaping the French festival as we drove around. Everyone knew it was coming, and there was no excuse to miss this wonderful occasion. This year we were delighted to have the presence of the Honorary Consul of France, Marcia McLachlan, and it was wonderful to have someone with that protocol, that diplomatic standing, coming to a little town like Auburn, a village nestled in the valley that turned itself into a Francophile town for a couple of days, celebrating all the wonderful, cultural and colourful elements of the French community.

For participants and tourists visiting our region, it meant they could enjoy a masterclass in champagne, there were cheese tastings—we had raclette on demand—and of course there were any number of cuisine options. I know that, from walking around every day and interacting with both locals and people who were visiting our community, everyone was having a fantastic time.

The Clare Valley can be a cooler climate, and that is what contributes to the fabulous terroir of our wines. But, on this occasion, we had fantastic weather and that certainly helped to bring people along with us.

Events like this are not possible without sponsors, and I note that the platinum sponsor this year was again Gordon Pickard AM. It was significant to have Gordon's generosity and contribution. There were too many local sponsors to name today, whose total sum of generous donations meant that this festival could go on. More money means more opportunities, so I certainly will be encouraging local businesses throughout the valley to open their pockets in two years' time, in 2025, when we mark this event again.

For the activities that I mentioned, of course we had been able to attract interstate and international performers. Again, I want to make special mention of someone who lives locally, called Leonie Moore. She was the conductor, music arranger, part composer, soloist and director of a fantastic event, the only event that really attracted local performers—we had young and old, from Balaklava and beyond—to feature all the fabulous classical music by Camille Saint-Saens. So we had The Carnival of the Animals music played in the lovely little Notre Dame church in Auburn.

Some of the businesses that made this event possible, just by virtue of the fact that the town was swimming with people and their services were required, include Becker's IGA; Velvet & Willow Cafe; Wines by KT; Ulster's new cellar door, which is remarkable; Terroir restaurant, which I mentioned; Cogwebs Bicycle Hire; and not forgetting the Rising Sun pub, which really was the centre of the town in hosting so many fabulous marquee events. C'est très magnifique.

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