Woolooga’s Big Rosella Field Days are back, literally putting the quirky fruit on the map with a vibrant festival of local food and farming on 6 and 7 May.
Now in its 8th year, the event is a weekend-long explosion of colour and flavour, celebrating the harvest of tangy, crimson-coloured rosellas. Just a taste of the program includes markets, chef and mixologist demonstrations, farm tours, gardening talks, live music and a preview of plans for Australia’s ‘next Big Thing’ – an upgrade to the Big Rosella that greets visitors to the farm and will be a new tourism icon for the region.
The Big Rosella Field Days take place at Petersen’s Farm on Reilly Rd, Woolooga, with the Petersen family believed to be Australia’s biggest commercial grower of rosella (also known as wild hibiscus), a bush food popular in many Queensland kitchens of old, but currently enjoying a gourmet resurgence. Guests will experience first-hand everything that goes into growing and enjoying the fruit, with tours of the family’s brightly coloured crop of more than 1500 plants, and fun rosella-peeling contests. Chefs including Neil Yates and Timo Van Hest (Bar Soma), Jason England (Odyssey Bistro), Jason Ford (South Burnett’s Food Ambassador), Valerie Ferdinands (MKR star & New Farm Bistro) and James Barnden (Charlie’s Hotel Gympie) will showcase ways to use the unique ingredients in cooking and cocktail demonstrations.
Little ones (whose tickets are free) will be kept entertained with activities including face painting, planting veggies in pots to take and grow at home, and the Little Miss Rosella and Junior Farmer competitions. Live music and Qigong sessions will also be featured throughout the event, giving a chance to relax and enjoy the festive atmosphere.
Host Cecilia ‘CC’ Diaz-Petersen is passionate about combining outdoor fun with getting to know your food and farmers.
“Getting out into the fresh air, connecting with the land and trying new foods is good for the soul. People are more and more wanting to get back to basics, and learn more about how their food is grown,” she says.
“Our event is a true paddock-to-plate experience, where all types of foodies can meet, support and learn from not just us but other fantastic local farmers. It’s why we changed the name to ‘Field Day’ from festival last year.”
“We especially love watching kids’ eyes light up as they try a new food for the first time, or get excited to go home and plant their own vegetable gardens. We’re really passionate about sustainability and leaving the world better than we found it, and inspiring kids is the way to do that.”
Usually referred to (and enjoyed) as a fruit, rosella is a flower believed to have arrived in Australia thousands of years ago. It’s incredibly rich in Vitamin C and has a beautiful tart, rhubarb-like flavour, and has historically been popular with First Nations peoples and later European settlers for its abundance and nutrition. Today, it’s growing a legion of fans using it in syrups, with champagne, in meat marinades and more. CC herself has an extensive range of products using them, as part of her popular, 105-product ‘CC’s Kitchen’ brand.
“We actually grow about 20-30 types of exotic fruit and vegetables each year, from gooseberries to okra to winged beans and lots of chillies, but rosellas are what really draw people in. Older generations remember making rosella jam with their own grandparents because it was plentiful in their backyards, while younger people are interested in it as a gourmet superfood.”
The Big Rosella Field Days have been running since 2016. The event has pushed on despite floods, fire and drought, and even went online in 2020, with the Petersens continually adding to the Field Days and their wider agritourism experience. Last year saw the addition of a new commercial kitchen, with a new plant nursery, and eventually cafe on the horizon.
CC’s Kitchen will be busy catering event with homemade food including CC’s popular spring rolls, Rosella pork sausages, cassava cake, scones and much more.
2023’s stallholders include local farmers and businesses like Hum Honey, Flower Farmstead, Purity Essential Oils, Baupal Park Farm and Mudgeeraba Spices, as well as fresh produce, preserves and seedlings from Petersen’s Farm and CC’s Kitchen. Local CWA branch and craft groups will also showcase their handmade wares too.
Tickets are $10 per adult, with kids under 12 free. Visit petersensfarm.com.au to book.
Big Rosella Field Days will run 9am-3pm, on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 May.
Petersens Farm, 2 Reilly Rd, Woolooga
