Top pick: Festival to celebrate olive harvest

The City of Whittlesea is partnering with environmental education centre CERES to bring delicious, local olive oil to the community.  

The free event invites residents to collect olives from their properties or wherever they choose to harvest, so the fruit can be communally pressed into a delicious blend of local olive oil.  

Olives can be dropped off on Saturday 17 May at May Road Senior Citizen Centre in Lalor, where a festival to celebrate the harvest is free for anyone to attend. The festival will include music, stalls and workshops, as well as fun activities for the kids.  

Each year, olive trees across the City of Whittlesea grow full of fruit that often goes unpicked. Olives to Oil promotes the benefits of growing local produce and reducing food waste.  

Residents wishing to have their olives pressed by CERES must book a drop-off time. Each booking permits up to 20kg of olives – which makes about 2L of olive oil – but multiple bookings can be made for people who have more.  

Those who drop off olives at the festival can collect their olive oil from the May Road Senior Citizen Centre on 14 June.  

For more information about harvesting olives or attending the festival, visit whittlesea.vic.gov.au/Olives-to-Oil  

Quote attributable to City of Whittlesea Mayor, Councillor Martin Taylor: 

"We’re excited to bring Olives to Oil to the City of Whittlesea. This innovative event not only helps reduce food waste but also offers a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together, take part in the age-old tradition of harvesting and create something truly special." 

Quote attributable to Manager of CERES Olives to Oil, Merrin Layden: 

"The program celebrates the multicultural heritage of Melbourne's suburbs with olive trees planted by migrant communities and now cherished by local people who harvest olives and share the oil. People of all ages enjoy participating in an ancient harvest tradition."