Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

For those of us shivering through this winter sitting in Canberra, the great news is that spring is not that far away. As the warmer weather starts to arrive, so do the wonderful community festivals that bring our communities together during spring. In my electorate, residents will have no shortage of options, from the Crows Nest and Lane Cove festivals to many of the fabulous school fetes that occur.

The first cab off the rank in my area is the Moocooboola Festival, which is traditionally held on the first Sunday in August—so not quite a spring event, but certainly the first. This year, 2019, marks the festival's 40th year, so there will be even more to celebrate. Moocooboola Festival, which is organised by Hunters Hill Council, has grown from a small street festival to a major event in Boronia Park, attracting up to 20,000 people. This year's festival is being held on Sunday, 4 August, and I'm sure it will be as popular as always. Over 120 stalls participate in the day, including food, health products, clothing, antiques, bric-a-brac, community and environmental information displays, products and much, much more. Of course, there's also great entertainment throughout the day and lots of activities for the kids. One of the highlights for me is judging the dog show, which is, without question, the most competitive part of the day, and probably makes me more enemies than friends by the end of it. I know that this year's 40th Moocooboola Festival will be a wonderful day for the Hunters Hill community and those who travel from beyond to attend. It's a major logistical exercise and I congratulate Hunters Hill Council, particularly their events coordinator, Gabby Cleary, for their work in keeping the tradition going so strong.

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