Soup Fest
Held at Seeds Communal Garden on Albert Street, Brunswick, this festival ran from 11 am to 3 pm on the 18th of August. The festival in question? The whimsical, and wonderful Soup Fest. This event was ran by the SEEDs Communal Garden, who are described as;
“a unique and diverse community garden, which provides opportunities for meaningful roles, community connections, and friendships for the participants of Milparinka” (Milparinka, 2024)
They described Soup Fest, along with future events, as being;
“a way for us to celebrate our community and support local talent and business, by bringing them together in a family-friendly space where they can enjoy a green and creative environment, share a meal and listen to live music” (Milparinka, 2024)
And that's exactly what they did!
Photos from their Instagram @seedscommunalgarden.
The Festivities ~
Entering the garden around 12:40 pm, we were immediately in awe and decided to make our rounds of the market stalls. There were a variety of things available, starting with Claire Mosley's stall (@clairemosleyart), who had drawn native animals and plants on a variety of commodities, including tea towels, stickers, posters, and journals, which my friend and I bought three of.
Other stalls that piqued our interest included one that resembled a garage sale, displaying a variety of bits and bobs. At which we both bought a top, with my $3 one printed with the statement ‘I Love Me’. There were plenty of garden stalls, selling pots, fertilizer, seeds, and of course, plants. For the kids, there were plenty of fun activities along with a face-painting station, which my friend and I were incredibly tempted by.
Walking past the stage and seeing the beautiful Bach Vietnamese dancers (see BACH VIET DANCE on Facebook) we came across a variety of other stalls that sold condiments, paintings, crystals, comics, soaps, and funky potted succulents. I acquired one that was potted in a large blue mug, whilst my friend got two miniature ones in wine glasses.
After browsing all the stalls we arrived at the reason for attending this festival…SOUP! We got each of the available soups for just $25, as when in Rome, along with some red wine and bread on the side. The soups in question were a Vegetable Lentil, Pumpkin Curry, and Potato & Leek. Positioning ourselves on a picnic rug in front of some delightful live music, and placing our feed on a nearby haystack, we dug in.
Being the soup enthusiast that we are, we decided to rank them. My ranking was as follows, Pumpkin Curry, then Potato & Leek followed closely by, Vegetable Lentil. My friend pushed my personal favourite to the bottom, having Potato and Lentil as her top two. Although we have differing taste buds, we could agree that they were ALL delicious and we’d happily consume them all again. Our main note for improvement was that we hoped it to be hotter, but other than that it was SOUP-er good!
Final Festival Factors ~
Whilst nothing like any of my previously reviewed festivals this one was one for the books. It provided my friend and I with such warm emotions and stomachs, becoming one of the most wholesome events I’ve ever attended. We stepped into this whimsical garden with no expectations and left with beautiful memories, cute memorabilia and an even larger love for soup. What more could you ask for??
Essentially, if you enjoy soup, gardening, thrifting, live music, nature, dancing, community, and/or positive energy this festival is for you!
See you at the next festival,
Lizzie T
Sources ~
Milparinka (2024) Seeds Community Garden. Milparinka; Better Stories to Tell. https://www.milparinka.org.au/seeds/
