Community
4 June, 2026
Sponge cake festival brings something new
THE inaugural Noorat Sponge Festival proved a hit after organisers sought to bring something new to the village at the foot of the mount.
Sponge Festival organisers Michelle Dowden and Georgina Conheady were over the moon with the support for the event, held on Sunday May 24 at the Neil Black Memorial Presbyterian Church Hall in Noorat.
“Last year Michelle had organised the Women’s Day at the Noorat Recreation Reserve and there was a section there for sponge cakes for people to have a taste,” Ms Conheady said.
“It got people talking and from there we thought about it in the line of having a Sponge Festival to get people out in the community and mixing.
“It was something for people who don’t always get out and about as a great way to get people talking about a mutual love of baking and being with other people in the community.
“We thought if we could get people out and about, we could give people something to look forward to.”
Around 60 people attended, with in excess of 20 sponge cakes of all shapes and sizes prepared across four categories – traditional cream and icing sponge, swiss roll, ginger fluff and a Mount Noorat inspired sponge.
“It was just meant to be a little bit of fun and see what people could come up with, and quite a few incredible cakes came out,” Ms Conheady said.
“We were so pleased to have so many people coming out into the community from far and wide.
“We had people from Port Campbell and Warrnambool, through to our local communities, so there were people we had never met before.
“We were inspired by each other or got to catch up with people we hadn’t seen for so long, so it was a day for a lot of laughter and enjoyment.
“It was lovely to see the smiles, the laughter and the discussion on what makes a good sponge.”
Ms Conheady said organisers were already eying a return next year after the Sponge Festival proved such a success.
“We’re definitely looking at doing it again next year and hopefully having more categories,” she said.
“It’s something we’d really like to continue on in the community, just to help get people out and about.
“We saw some people had organised to meet up so they could bring along others who don’t always get out and about, which showed what a nice way it was to get everyone looking after each other and getting out and about.”
South West Coast MP Roma Britnell was among those in attendance, who said she was already looking forward to next year’s event.
“It was very competitive in the entries but people enjoyed sharing ideas and tips,” she said.
“Corangamite Shire councillor Geraldine Conheady and myself awarded the prizes.
“It was a fun day and everyone got to eat the cakes.”
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