The long-awaited opening of the Riverlink Building, sublime weather and a seemingly endless spread of locally-produced food and drink drew thousands to the Levee for Taste Festival over the weekend.
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About 10,000 people flocked to Maitland’s city centre for the annual celebration of all things tasty, with this year’s theme revolving around local produce and Maitland’s Slow Food movement.
Maitland Council's events curator Amelia Atkinson said organisors “couldn’t have asked for anything more” over the weekend.
She said she was overjoyed with the number of attendants, given the plethora of events on throughout the Hunter over the weekend.
“There was a lot on in the Hunter this weekend, so we’re really pleased to get so many people here,” she said.
With more than 50 stalls featuring local food and wine, Ms Atkinson said punters had voted with their feet.
“We’ve focused on local produce this year, we had (celebrity chef) Matt Golinski using a lot of local produce in his cooking demonstrations over the weekend which I think people really enjoyed,” she said.
The unveiling of the Riverlink Building, which had been slated for a mid-March opening, was another attraction to the busy strip.
Passers-by were able to enjoy a riverside breeze as well as sit and eat at the newly-installed tables.
Riverlink access will remain open for good, however the new public toilets will remain closed for several more weeks as a construction certificate is waited on.
When not enjoying the new river views, revelers had a smorgasbord of food stalls to peruse.
Smattered among the local produce were stalls with Vietnamese, German, and deep south food themes; churros, gozleme, burgers, baked potatoes, Thai, and paella among the treats on offer.
Among the interesting trinkets on display was Herb Urban’s range of automated watering and plant nutrient system ideal for those without much garden space or time poor.
Such was the success of the weekend, Ms Atkinson said she was confident in calling the 2018 event “the best yet”.
“We’re really pleased with it overall, it’s been beautiful weather and the vibes have been really good so we couldn’t ask for much more,” she said.
- More photos: page 10
