Saturday was a beautiful spring day…perfect for a day out at the Sample Food Festival in Bangalow. The festival is set to showcase the qualities of local Northern NSW food.
Bangalow is a pretty town just inland from Byron Bay on the coast. It began as a camp by timbercutters in the 1840s. A town grew on the site in the 1880s and some of the lovely old buildings remain, now filled with shops and restaurants.
It was good to see some colourful characters in town.
The food festival was held under the huge trees in the show grounds.
There were dozens of stalls selling local products…cheese, coffee, spices, chocolate and much more.
The farmers’ market had delicious produce on offer.
Best of all local restaurants offered sample size meals for around $5 per serve.
Bangalow is well worth a visit even without the food festival. The whole area is beautiful. We drove back towards Byron Bay through rolling hills dotted with farms. Despite the haze, Byron Bay and the coast looked wonderful in the distance.
When I lived in the area I visited these markets often. They are one of the best markets I have been to. Great location
By: Lyn Douglas on September 9, 2013
at 8:24 am
The area is beautiful, lucky you living there.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 9, 2013
at 9:15 pm
Good morning Debra from a warm Bangalow. I came across your blog while trying to find information of buses and trains to Bagni di Luca and nearby Vico Pancellorum. I have a mate here in Bangalow who has just purchased a house in the village of Vico and I am now planning to visit next year once he has done minor renovations. I was particularly interested to see your beautiful new house…..how lovely for you and your family. Of course your place in Ponte a Serraglio looks very attractive also. How weird to see the photos from the Bangalow food festival on your blog as well as the Currumbin Sculptures and realise that we are not too far from each other here in Australia. How much of your time is spent in Brisbane? My friend is hoping to spend a couple of months of the year in Vico and holiday rent the house over the high season in the summer months. I’m really looking forward to discovering this area of Tuscany, it certainly looks fantastic from all your great photos.
Cheers Bruce
By: Bruce McDonough on September 22, 2013
at 11:44 pm
It is a funny world indeed! I will be heading back to Italy soon for several months.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 23, 2013
at 5:59 am
It’s such a lovely part of the world. The ginger, turmeric and galangal look super fresh
By: Jan on September 9, 2013
at 10:50 am
They certainly were very fresh. The market was excellent. I would like to spend a few days in the area and explore.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 9, 2013
at 9:16 pm
Fond memories of Bangalow from those years when we lived in Watego’s Beach, Byron Bay. It was always a beautiful town and I am glad to see that it continues that way.
By: mulino dominillo on September 9, 2013
at 11:20 am
The last time I was in Bangalow was about 30 years ago. It has changed a bit, but still has the same lovely character.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 9, 2013
at 9:17 pm
Goodness, it all looks lovely–and delicious, of course. I especially love bread, so that image has tons of appeal, as do the flower photos. My Sara is baking bread today, by the way.
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
By: Kathryn McCullough on September 9, 2013
at 12:00 pm
Lucky you, having freshly baked bread.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 9, 2013
at 9:18 pm
Wow. There’s some food there I definitely DON’T recognize…but I’m sure it was all good. Love the guy in the pink with the green tie. What a character!!
Your life makes my head spin!
By: The Daily Cure on September 9, 2013
at 1:11 pm
The things you don’t recognize would probably be the ginger, turmeric and galangal…and yes, it was all delicious.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 9, 2013
at 9:19 pm
Pink is amazing 🙂 I loved and enjoyed just I wished I could taste them too 🙂 Thanks and Love, nia
By: niasunset on September 9, 2013
at 1:52 pm
We have some excellent food here in Australia. You must visit one day.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 9, 2013
at 9:20 pm
Am adding this to our places to visit list when next in Qld.
By: Jim & Kerry on September 9, 2013
at 1:58 pm
Bungalow is about a 2 hour drive from Brisbane. I would like to spend more time in the area exploring more of the pretty towns.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 9, 2013
at 9:21 pm
What a gorgeous day! Love all the colour and festivities. Bet you ate scrumptious food! Ciao, cat
By: chillcat on September 9, 2013
at 2:42 pm
The food we had was delicious. I would have liked to try more, but there is only so much you can eat.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 9, 2013
at 9:21 pm
Oh my that looks like fun. I have just been catching up on your posts, little black pigs and strange rocks, New York and your extraordinary fashion career, there is always something wonderful to read and beautiful photos to look at here in the Beyond. Those tubers look like oca? or are they something quite different, I have them planted here and there in my little garden as I like their leaves and fleshy stems, hope some of them will have made tubers this year as they are good to eat.
By: Joanna on September 9, 2013
at 10:44 pm
The tubers were ginger, turmeric and galangal. I don’t know what oca is. I haven’t used galangal in my cooking, but I regularly use ginger and have just started using fresh turmeric and I like it.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 10, 2013
at 12:58 am
The food looks scrumptious! And i think that man carries pink and pearls with aplomb 🙂
By: Madhu on September 12, 2013
at 4:43 pm
He looks great. We need these colorful characters.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 13, 2013
at 12:35 pm