Zucchini carts, music and creativity delight crowd at Harfest 2026

More than 600 people packed Warrnambool Community Garden’s quarry amphitheatre on Saturday 14 March for the second annual Harfest, celebrating community, creativity and homegrown fun.

The day’s standout attraction was the inaugural Zucchini Cart Championships, which saw 29 racers speed down the purpose-built ramp in a joyful contest of creativity, engineering and good‑natured chaos.

The ultimate champion, fastest Zucchini racer in Australia and winner of the Golden Gourd was Wangoom local Hugh Adams, with help from dad Muz, whose cart Yellow Submarine sailed its way to victory.

The Beatles-inspired racer was a last-minute decision, built on the afternoon of the competition, with Hugh originally planning to construct a bus-shaped zucchini cart before changing direction midway through the build.

“We were going to make a bus,” Hugh said. “But once we started building it, the zucchini just looked more like a submarine - so we leaned into it.”

With its bright yellow design and smooth run down the ramp, the cart proved both creative and fast, securing Hugh the championship title.

Dad Muz said the last‑minute design change paid off. “Sometimes you’ve just got to go with what the zucchini tells you,” he joked.

As Hugh lifted the Golden Gourd trophy above his head, the crowd erupted into an impromptu chorus of “We all live in a yellow submarine,” bringing a fittingly joyful end to the race.

The prize for Best Crash went to race finale runners‑up Claire, Tina and family, whose racer Zoomabillia required extensive duct tape repairs before the final run due to the smash.

Best Dressed was awarded to Virginie Lefebvre for Dragini, a culturally inspired with wheels made from CDs and a disco ball on the back, what it lacked in speed it made up for in style.

But organisers say the real winner was the enthusiastic crowd that gathered around the ramp, led by energetic race calling from Jordan Lockett, who had spectators chanting “3‑2‑1 Zucchini!” before each run.

Race organiser Andrea Pitkethly said she was delighted by the turnout and creativity on display.

“There’s been some incredible artistic talent and some very serious lean, green zucchini racing machines,” she said.

“It’s just warmed my heart and it’s a dream come true to bring this race to life.”

Creativity continued across the festival with the Fashions on the Field Scarecrow Competition, where participants crafted scarecrows from second‑hand clothing and beach debris collected by Beach Patrol 3280.

The winning entry, Deep Sea Purple Diver, created by Isla and Angus, impressed judges with it's trash to treasure approach and took home the winner’s sash.

Between sets by local bands including Jacob Paton-Lee, The Hootie Tooties & Lisztomania, crowds were captivated by a lively performance from the Most Wuthering Heights Day dancers, whose red‑dressed Kate Bush tribute added theatrical flair to the afternoon.

Warrnambool Community Garden convenor Courtney Mathew said the event highlighted the importance of community connection.

“While gardening is our main focus, it’s so important to be able to come together and celebrate community,” she said.

“We’ve had lots of feedback on how welcoming the space is, with many people visiting for the first time commenting on how lucky it is to have an incredible facility like this in our town, and how good old‑fashioned silly fun is exactly what’s needed right now.

“We're so grateful to our volunteers who helped put on this huge event, with more than 70 volunteers before, during and after and incredibly thankful to our community for coming along and supporting the garden’s work.”

Harfest is a community event raising funds for the volunteer‑run Warrnambool Community Garden, a not‑for‑profit organisation supporting sustainable food production and connection through gardening.