Federweisser (partially fermented grape juice) and zwiebelkuchen (onion tart) were two of the traditional German harvest delights tasted at the Moutere Hills Harvest Festival last week.

The inaugural festival lived up to its billing as a “Celebration of Life in the Moutere Hills”, with 150 or so locals picnicking in the late afternoon sun and enjoying the music of the appropriately named “Tom’s Field”.  The tennis courts were kept busy and the grounds were awash with children of all ages doing what they do best – racing around the paddocks in noisy joyful groups.

It was the last day of daylight saving, and in keeping with the harvest theme, locally produced wines, beer and cider were available, and trestle tables groaned under the weight of donated vegetables, fruit and home preserves. Gold coins clinked, and by the end of the evening the produce was redistributed amongst the populace, and the occasion paid for itself, with a bit left over for the general coffers. A display featuring the local Hop industry was very much enjoyed.

The Harvest Festival is one of the few occasions where the whole community can come together without it being a sporting, school based or family group occasion. MHCC board member Tim Finn took the occasion to canvass support for the formation of a local Community Association, to aid in formulating local projects such as walkways, village beautification and general infrastructure. The association would advocate for residents and make submissions to the Tasman District Council. He noted that there were twelve such associations in the Tasman Region plus a couple of Community Boards, and suggested that the Moutere Hills community was losing out by not engaging with Council, a conclusion that was supported by local ward Councillor Brian Ensor. A number of residents expressed support for this and a contact list was formed. A community meeting will be held later in the year to move the idea forward. Interested residents should contact Centre manager Katrina [katrina@mouterehills.org.nz] with their email address.

The celebration was deemed a great success, and it will be built on to become a permanent fixture on the Moutere Hills Community Centre Calendar.

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Thanks to everyone who helped put together the Community Mosaics title at Sarau Festival.

The tile incorporates elements that depict Moutere Hills Community Centre and once grouting is complete the tile  will be displayed in the public toilets, down by the entry to the changing sheds, to help brighten up this area.

Moutere Hills Community Centre would like to acknowlege the generous donation from Creative Communities to make this project possible.

If you are interested in learning how to do mosaics yourself then we are running three adults courses at the centre.  A beginners course on a Tuesday evening and an intermediate course on a Thursday evening.  Also, due to demand, there will be a Saturday workshop on offer during March.  To find out more about this check out the What’s On section on this website.