New small business High Vibes Drinks attending their first Loch Festival

Loch comes alive for renowned festival

THE beloved Loch Village Food and Wine Festival returned to the picturesque town on Sunday morning after two years of closure. Over time the festival has moved to the station reserve to accommodate the crowds and Sunday was no different, with more than 2000 online tickets sold. 

Loch Community Development Association vice president Sean Taylor-Lyons said they had a tremendous response from local traders wanting to be apart of the 2022 event. 

“The event is solely run by volunteers with all proceeds going back into the community and today (Sunday) we have over 55 vendors in attendance, it’s great to see the community come together for our single most important fundraiser of the year,” said Sean. Despite the winter weather forecast, the streets of Loch were lined with cars and the bustling crowd at the station reserve reflected a successful turnout. 

Many food, drink and produce stalls were new small businesses attending their first Loch Festival including Emily Johnson and Elise Calavetta showcasing their newly established company High Vibes Drinks; a selection of non-alcoholic wine, beer, cider, cocktails and spirits for those who want to enjoy the flavours without alcohol, including mulled wine for a cold winter’s day. 

Aqiao Wang and Aca Matias of Pellegrino Pizza enticed the crowd with the aroma of their wood fire pizza, a perfect dish to accompany a cold beer from Narelle Jones of Burra Brewing Co. 

Families lined the rows tasting a diverse array of cultural dishes and sweet treats, from devilish donuts to Melbourne paella, with a side of fine wine from the Gippsland Wine Company to hot espresso from Barista on the Move.

Credit: Nicole May - South Gippsland Sentinel-Times