Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival: A Tale of Trails, Tastes, and Traditions

There's beauty in the day to day; the smell of fresh baked goods, the smile of familiar faces passing through the streets, the hum of the activity keeping people connected, the feel of textured landscapes, and the colours of the circling world.

This is where Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival finds its magic.

Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival

When: Until 30 April

Where: Various venues in Gisborne/New Gisborne, Lancefield, Romsey, Riddells Creek, Macedon, Mount Macedon, Woodend, Kyneton, Malmsbury, and the surrounding countryside

Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here.

 

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Unlike staged festivals that appear and vanish in a flash, the Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival celebrates the existing. From Wednesday 1 to Thursday 30 April, locals and visitors alike are invited to explore the flavours, colours, scents, people, and places that make the region extraordinary. Across nine historic villages, the festival embeds you in the everyday delights of the Macedon Ranges: foodie feasts, lively weekend markets featuring fresh produce and handcrafted wares, fairytale gardens, twilight adventures, captivating art displays, and the camaraderie of community.

The festival spans Gisborne/New Gisborne, Lancefield, Romsey, Riddells Creek, Macedon, Mount Macedon, Woodend, Kyneton, Malmsbury, and the surrounding countryside, highlighting the working web of the region and placing visitors at the heart of Victoria’s most spellbinding landscapes. Across these villages, doors open to local businesses, growers, wineries, venues, restaurants, retailers, and galleries, encouraging visitors to taste, try, talk, and take in the region’s delights. 

Over 50 unique events are on offer. During the school holidays, visitors can join acrylic painting classes with Country Canvases, browse the Gisborne Olde Time Market or Woodend Lions Community Market, or explore farmers and art markets in Riddells Creek, Malmsbury, Lancefield, and Kyneton. Families can enjoy Creative Kids sessions at Bluestone Theatre in Kyneton or embrace the outdoors with a morning of Mushroom Foraging with Australian Wild Herbs and Mushrooms. Additional experiences include creative workshops, a French Brocante Marché, the Edgy Veg Awards, Malmsbury Fayre, free entry to Kyneton Museum, guided walks at Hanging Rock, forest bathing, paranormal investigations, a Botanic Gardens community picnic, and more.

Music and art are central to the festival. Live music and exhibitions pop up across venues throughout the month. Maddy performs at the Victoria Hotel on Saturday 4 April, while Wombat Forest Vineyard and Winery hosts Brett Franke’s Amongst the Barrels session on Sunday 19 April. Galleries embrace the season too: The Gallery Mount Macedon presents its annual art prize, and The Old Auction House Creative Hub showcases the distinctive landscapes of the region through the Ranges Art Exhibition 2026. Famed author Andy Griffith introduces his newest imaginative creation, Let’s Go, with an interactive session at Kyneton Town Hall on Thursday 9 April. 

 

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The entire Macedon Ranges Autumn festival is underpinned by trails, taking you on tours of the landscapes and tastes that tie together the region. There’s a distinct imagery that is attached to the Macedon Ranges region; rolling hills, luscious foliage, and the most spectacularly manicured gardens. On the Mount Macedon Autumn Garden Trail you will be able to explore the latter, roaming through three glorious, heritage gardens; Duneira Estate, Forest Glade Gardens, and Viewfield. Expect the brightest orange, yellow and red leaves to line the paths, dewy mornings cling to the air, and the blankets of thickening green lawns. Use of the complimentary shuttle bus is available with a pre-purchased ticket to any one of the gardens.

The next two trails come with a preface – enter with an empty belly, leave with a few extra kilos. Explore the renowned wineries, breweries and distillers of the Macedon Ranges across the Autumn Tipple Trail, which takes you into 37 venues to pair delicious bites with signature drinks. You’ll head from Paramoor Winery, around to Wombat Forest Vineyard, The Gisborne Collective, to PRATO, Cleveland Estate, Hanging Rock Winery, Woodend Cellar and Bar, and everything in between, finishing up at UMMM Restaurant. It’s all laid out on the Autumn Festival Map & Passport, your official guide to exploring the event.

Perhaps the most delicious drawcard, and biggest baked boast of the Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival is Australia’s biggest Pie & Tart Trail featuring more than 50 mouthwatering, indulgent and completely irresistible sweet and savoury pastries. Try the Blueberry Pie Ice Cream at Gisborne Ice Cream Co, go for something more traditional like the Stew & Brew Pie at The Lancefield Hotel, or lean into the season with the Banoffee Pie from Hanging Rock Cafe. At stop 16 you will find master crafters of the crusts with Piper Street Food Co. Their Plum & Spiced Apple Pie is a reflection of history, home, and honest hospitality. 

 

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From the passionate partnership of Damian and Bryanna Sandercock, Piper Street Food Co. is easily distinguished by the 970 Morris Mini Cooper K usually parked out the front. Named Edith, the vintage automobile reflects the Piper Street Food Co. story.

“Edith represents everything that we are; a British background but Australian made,” offers Damian Sandercock. He explains his family lineage dating back to England and the traditional foods brought with them that became embedded in his generational recipe books. Growing up with two chefs as parents, and having been in kitchens for 30 years, Damian brings that history into his practice. These authentically made, handcrafted from scratch recipes now form the menu at Piper Street Food Co. 

“These are recipes that hold stories and memories across 100 and 1000’s of years. We have to honour the history of the dish, as much as the flavours. There have been 1000’s of taste-testers over centuries who have helped to perfect those meals, so we don’t want to alter recipes that hold so much generational weight and memories and nostalgia to them,” he says. 

“We had a Cornish gentleman visit us and he cried when he bit into our Cornish Pasty because it tasted like the pasties his late father used to make. It made him feel like he was here with him, and those moments are so special to us. To allow people to recall those food memories is wonderful,” adds Bryanna.

Perhaps the most pertinent product on the list is their traditional English Pork Pie. Employing a traditional process that takes three days, the Piper Street Food Co. English Pork Pie is so sought after, Damian makes 100 every week. But that still wasn’t enough, so he started transferring his skills to others through ongoing cooking classes; the Pork Pies and Cornish Pasties session is always a quick booker. 

“The cooking school is a chance to share the process and continue those traditions which is what food is supposed to be about; sharing good food together,” Damian says.

 

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“There’s a generosity to what we do and what we do is all about sharing. It’s a value so connected to our community. We are so supported, and all of the community – whether it be fellow business operators, or producers at markets, or even neighbours – we all support each other. Quite often we will find fresh fruit at our front door from locals who maybe had oversupply from their garden, offering it to us to make a seasonal pie. It’s the spirit of community that we are so glad to be part of,” shares Bryanna.

For the festival run, the establishment will not only be a must-visit spot on the Pie and Tart Trail, but they will be running their cooking classes, and continuing their Friday Night Pizza nights. There will also be in-store tastings. 

The Sandercock’s stand as ongoing supporters of the festival and the vibrant hospitality scene, welcoming visitors to come and explore the region throughout the month for the festival, but also all year around.

“It’s a really unique region in the sense that we don’t have an iconic landmark that defines us. We are a sum of our parts,” says Bryanna. 

“The Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival highlights the handmade nature of our produce and how precious these villages are and how they are being lost. It supports the small businesses but then there is the natural beauty of the landscape. The wonderful thing is that it is simple and seasonal, which makes it special. Every year the festival will be different as it reflects the changing season, something that we witness living here. 

It’s celebrating our everyday.” 

The entire festival culminates with Harvest just out the front of the Piper Street Food Co. location on the namesake Piper Street in Kyneton. Commencing at 5.30pm on Thursday 30 April, attendees can expect plenty of live music, autumn treats roasted over coals, roving performers, and the comfort of harvest food and drink in autumn.

Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival is a fairytale foray into a beloved Victorian community cluster where hospitality and the daily lifestyle of these heritage villages are spotlighted.

Plan your visit here.