A GAYNDAH couple are squeezing the most out of their citrus orchard by converting an old hay shed and silo into a popular new event complex.
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Bevan and Kylee Young operate three citrus orchards under the banner Sandbar Citrus, but decided to diversify one of their properties in a rather unusual way.
Ms Young, a former visual merchandiser for Myer, wanted to make better use of their unused hay shed overlooking the Greenhaven orchard and quickly got to work converting the space into The Old Tin Shed.
“Driving into work one day and I thought, wow that’s a big shed, we need to do something with it and I guess just offer the town something different,” she said.
“We just tidied it all up, used a lot of pallets as dividers and then I’ve bought a lot of furniture. We got a lot of timber tressels made, mix-matched chairs and cable wheels.”
But, the main feature of their rural event centre is a large grain silo converted into a bar.
“We had seen a picture of it and my husband and I both enjoy a challenge so, we thought right let’s make this happen,” Ms Young said.
In September last year they hosted their first community event, Cardigans and Cabernet, and received an overwhelming response.
Another 130 people attended a Christmas lunch with up to 200 people expected for their third event, Eat Street, as part of the second annual Heartland Festival.
A range of food stalls will be on offer along with live music during the event on July 14 from 5pm-10.30pm.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased via www.eventbrite.com.au/e/heartland-festival-2018-tickets-44937072995
The Heartland Festival is a jam-packed weekend (July 13-15) aimed at showcasing everything made, grown and produced in the North Burnett region with market days, tours and plenty of food.
President Renee McGilvery was inspired to establish the event as a way to show her teenage daughter what their region had to offer.
This story first appeared on Queensland Country Life