No Baloney — Salami Proves a Big Hit in Border Community
It was put on ice for two years thanks to the pandemic, and relocated last year due to flooding, but organisers of The Great Murray River Salami Festival believe 2023 is finally the time it firmly cements its place in the NSW culinary calendar.
Key Points
- The Euston Club will stage the fourth annual Great Murray River Salami Festival on Saturday,
11 November. - While the event began in 2018, it was postponed for two years due to the pandemic.
- Visitors will flock from across the country in a big boost for the small border town and the Club.
The brainchild of Euston Club CEO Guy Fielding, the festival was first staged in 2018 and had a solid foundation until COVID-19 struck.
“We have a big Italian community base here in Euston and people were always saying ‘come and try my salami’ so I thought why not stage a competition and have everyone get right behind it,” says Guy.
“Lots of towns seem to have festivals so it was an opportunity to give Euston its own version, showcase local produce and put us on the map every year.”
Guy embarked on a study tour of similar festivals in Griffith and Melbourne, where he met James Mele, a renowned artisan salami maker from Victoria, who helped him map out a version that Euston could call its own.
“Clubs are for the community, and this is such a great family-oriented community event, it brings everyone together and is great exposure for the Club, we can’t wait to kick it off again in November.”
“He’s the Head Judge at the Victorian Salami Festival and when I met him in Griffith and told him about my idea he was so receptive of it and generous of his time in providing us a template to work with, he even ended up being our Head Judge,” says Guy.
The festival is more than just a salami competition, with food and beverage vendors setting up market stalls, live entertainment throughout the day, salami-making demonstrations and plenty of activities to keep the young ones entertained.
One of the early vendors was Saskia Beer, the daughter of renowned Australian cook Maggie Beer, who sadly passed away in her sleep in 2020 at just 46 years of age.
“Saskia was so involved in the first two years of the festival, she did cooking demonstrations, sold her own salami and put her hand up to be one of our judges,” says Guy.
“We were absolutely devastated when she passed away and decided last year that we would have a memorial trophy in her honour, which will now get awarded every year for the best local salami.”
Maggie Beer was so moved after hearing about the trophy in her daughter’s honour that she cancelled overseas plans to be on hand at last year’s festival to present it to the inaugural winner, to judge categories and speak with locals.
Over 2000 people attended last year’s event following a two-year COVID hiatus, a pleasing number considering flooding forced it to be moved to the nearby football oval.
Postcode data collected by local sport club volunteers showed people travelling to the festival from as far afield as Queensland and Western Australia, and organisers are confident that trend will continue this year and beyond.
“It returns this year to the banks of the Murray, right on the doorstep of the Euston Club, you can’t get a more picturesque spot,” says Guy.
“Clubs are for the community, and this is such a great family-oriented community event, it brings everyone together and is great exposure for the Club, we can’t wait to kick it off again in November.”
The Great Murray River Salami Festival will take place on Saturday, 11 November. You can find out more about the festival here.
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