Winter Weekend Activities in Orange

If you are looking for a nice day trip or weekend break over the next month can I suggest passing through Orange during Frost Fest? The full program of events can be found on the Taste Orange page and bookings are recommended.

However, if you would prefer my  top picks, here they are:

Pinholes and Pinot at De SalisWines – what better place for a local pinhole camera photography exhibition than in a cellar door! Sip on new vintage De Salis wines (I’ve tried them and they are v.good) whilst perusing the exhibition and mingling with the movers and shakers of Orange (at least myself and Mr L’Orange will be there!). Picture have been taken by Orange local Jude Keogh.

Date: Friday 3^rd August from 7pm – 10pm is the launch party

The exhibition runs for the whole of Frost Fest if you can’t make the launch.

Dress: extra warm as at the cellar door gets cold.

De Salis Vineyard

Apple Pie and Mulled Cider at Small Acres Cyder

For $8 you can have your fill of apple goodness in both a pastry and alcoholic form – again the perfect combination and certain to keep the doctor away. From past experience these food and cider events are mega popular so book a spot to avoid disappointment.

Small Acres Cyder Apple Pie

There are plenty of other food, wine and log fire type experiences at wineries all over Orange during Frost Fest, it is just a matter of what deciding how much you want to spend and how formal you want to make things. Notice my Scottish roots coming through as both my picks are free or cheap? 

Anyway, grab some friends and make an effort to head this way at the start of August if you have some free time.

If you need more to do during your visit, take a look at some of these former LALO posts:

Factory Espresso

Byng St Store

Sweet Sour Salt

Rocking Horse Lounge

The Old Convent

Frostfest in Orange

Frostfest started off well with a brilliant night at the Orange Civic Theatre seeing Julius Caesar. I caught up with some girlfriends beforehand and we enjoyed some delicious lime infused local gin and tonics made by Stone Pine Distillery in Bathurst. If you are a gin person, you definitely need to try some Stone Pines gin as it has a really interesting blend of botanicals that give the gin lovely lime & mint characteristics so you don’t have to worry about adding anything else. It is also very reasonably priced as far as gin is concerned, you can purchase a bottle at the Orange farmers markets or from their website.

So back to the play, the modern adaptation by the Bell Shakespeare Company went with a minimalist political setting that you could imagine Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard featuring in. If you have a free night this week, definitely buy some tickets and go along for a decent fill of culture. The seats in the Orange Civic Theatre were excellent and we could see and hear everything perfectly. It makes a big difference being able to get good seats for $50 versus poor seats for $80 - $100 in Sydney. The gin was having a serious drowsy effect, combined with the warm theatre and comfy chairs – my girlfriends were falling asleep on me! The older ladies behind us were actually snoring, which was pretty hilarious.

We stocked up on tea, water and snakes (unusual food item for a theatre but yummy) in the interval so we could be a bit more wide awake for act two. We needn’t have worried as the suspense and drama kept us on the edge of our seats. 10 minutes after the show finished we were home, if only it was that easy when we used to live in Sydney.

On Saturday night we headed to the De Salis Cellar Door to see the new Frostfest photographic exhibition by Alexis Withers from Sydney. We wrapped up warmly and enjoyed some tasty barbequed chipolata sausage rolls with homemade tomato sauce the perfect match for De Salis Fume Sauvignon Blanc 2010. We enjoyed a lovely evening thanks to Charlie Svenson’s hospitality and a good crowd of local wine makers and friends in attendance. The photo exhibition remains at the De Salis Cellar Door until the end of Frostfest, go and check out this awesome cellar door if you have the chance.

Getting Frosty in Orange

If you are one of those people who love a log fire and getting dressed up in your winter coat, woolly hat, scarf and gloves then Orange during winter is the perfect place to visit! Frostfest is about to start and there are a plethora of cultural, food and wine related activities going on between July 30th and August 7th. To see the full programme of Frostfest events click here.

I can highly recommend spending some time out at Small Acre’s Cyder in Borenore, we took Mr L’Orange’s parents last year and loved the cider tasting accompanied by pork and apple sausages and mash. This year, James and Gail are offering homemade apple pie and mulled cider – what’s not to love on a cold winter’s day? The cider tasting runs the same way as a wine tasting and the ciders on offer range from sparkling to dry and then to sweet and dessert style – tres delish.

The cellar door is usually pretty packed so make sure you book so you get a seat and more importantly so they don’t run out of apple pie.

On the ‘arts’ side of things, even the Australian Ballet Company & Bell Shakespeare Company are venturing out to Orange for Frostfest this year. I can’t wait for the end of July when I see Julius Cesar and then in August  I’m going to see the ballet Don Quixote with some girlfriends (Mr L’Orange had no interest whatsoever). The best thing about shows at the Orange Civic Theatre is that they are typically half the price of seeing the exact same show in Sydney. Plus you don’t need to worry about finding parking and can be home 10 minutes after the show finishes.

Hope this has inspired you and we see you in Orange soon.