Hop to Harvest, a new festival launched in April by Meander Valley local Emma Seddon, attracted around 500 attendees and more than a dozen local vendors to Rotary Park Reserve in Deloraine for a day celebrating community, food, and festivities. The event was designed to spotlight the region’s small-scale agricultural and craft producers, many of whom Seddon encountered through her work in the local hospitality industry.
“Hop to Harvest came about 12 months ago. Working in the hospitality industry in Deloraine I got exposed to a lot of small batch creators in the area doing really wonderful things,” Seddon says. “I thought as well as a few other people in the community, what a good opportunity to bring it together for a day and celebrate that and really shine a light on that for the Meander Valley.”
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With a background in event management and a passion for local produce, Seddon assembled a team to bring her vision to life. The festival was organised under the guidance of a not-for-profit board made up of Seddon, brewer and British Hotel owner Evan Green, and chef Luke Searson of Frank and Lottie’s.
“We all brought something different to the table in terms of what we could do to bring Hop to Harvest together,” she says.
The event was a community effort, with about ten volunteers contributing their time and expertise. Tasks ranged from managing social media and finances to coordinating on-the-ground logistics. “All these people put in a huge amount of time and effort to bring this all together,” Seddon says. “Our main focus [was] that our vendors felt supported. And they knew what was going on. They knew where to go. And everything just seemed quite seamless.”
Feedback from festival-goers was overwhelmingly positive. “People really enjoyed the live music. Particularly having Louis Moran there who was like a younger lad,” Seddon notes. “There were a couple [of] vendors who were stars with the show with the food that they were putting out. And the cost of the food as well was really appealing to people.”
Looking ahead, the team is working to secure council support for the next three years. While the first event took place in late April, the organisers are aiming to move the event to mid-March in 2025, hoping to capitalise on better timing within the busy Tasmanian events calendar. “We perhaps felt that the community had that event fatigue by the time Hop to Harvest came around,” Seddon explains. “We are looking at 14 March.”
Plans are also underway for a potential winter event in 2026, which would be designed to draw visitors during the quieter season. “We are looking at fire and chefs from near and far and truffles and all sorts of things. It’ll be a ticketed event,” Seddon reveals.
Seddon spoke passionately about the community that has embraced her and the festival. “It’s the people here,” she said. “It’s something that has really lit a fire in me, I guess in terms of wanting to organise future events because just with people around that are wanting to help.”
That support was crucial as she balanced life, work, and festival planning. “The toughest bits I guess were for me juggling life,” she said. “But being able to ask for help from people in the community. And people always said yes, of course. Luckily people always say yes and they want to help.”
With strong community backing and a clear vision, events like Hop to Harvest are poised to become annual highlights—driving local activity, supporting small producers, and offering something Deloraine and the Meander Valley can truly be proud of.
