When I found out Milkwood was holding a Passata Day, there was a squeal of delight, and more than a little happy hand clapping. I had long held dreams of being part of a European village tomato festival, had looked longingly looked over at Rohan’s Passata Day from last year and would have happily invited myself over to any large family that held annual passata days in their backyard (if only I knew of any.)

So when Passata Day was announced I was just a little bit happy. A promise of lunch by Three Blue Ducks, mocktails by Trolleyd, music by Sophie Loizou and all tomatoey goodness by Common2us and Old Mill Road– to be held in the back garden of an inner city community centre?

Oh yes I was going to be there, and it promised to be a good one!

Amazing mocktails from Trolleyd created from native and organic ingredients, all foraged or sourced locally. If you didn’t think bartending and sustainability went hand in hand, think again.

Tomatoes. Real tomatoes. The kind that taste like summer and come in every funny shape and form. The red goodness came from two market garden farms- Common2us an organic community farm based in Dural and Old Mill Road BioFarm, a family run farm in Moruya.

 Some of my favourite conversation topics happened here. Chats on sourdough, permaculture, homebirth, cooking, photography, community and fermentation. The Passata Goddess must have been smiling above me, when she placed two of Sydney’s fermentation experts in front of me- questions answered and encouragement built on. These were a few of their beautiful fermented goodies to be tasted on the day.

 Simple beautiful food, eaten at a long table….nothing better. Nothing.

 The amazing and inspiring Kirsten and Nick, the couple behind Milkwood Permaculture.

…and the wonderful finished product.

Bidding goodbye to old and new friends, with the passata bottles safely tucked away. I slowly peddled home and reflected on why today had made me so happy.

* I had got to be a part of a community event that I had always wanted to.

* I had been able to talk with people that held so many similar interests and beliefs.

* I was able to introduce two of my friends to an event that they would have otherwise not known about, (which they loved.)

* I had met a bundle of people that I knew in the virtual social media world, and had been able to (at times nervously) introduce myself.

And ultimately. Celebrated the fact that so many of my interests and ideals could come together in the one day. To organise an event such as this would taken a huge amount of time, but it was done beautifully and I can only hope there is another one for next year. This is a perfect example of what simple living can be. A community event where food and people come together. Where skills are shared, knowledge is passed on and friendships formed and added to.

Passata Day you rocked.

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For more Passata Day goodness see here.