General News
20 March, 2026
Zucchini carts, music and creativity
IT is official. The yellow submarine is the fastest zucchini on (four) wheels.
The bright yellow sub, the work of local Hugh Adams, thrilled a big crowd at last weekend’s Warrnambool Community Garden’s Harfest.
More than 600 people enjoyed Saturday’s event; with the inaugural running of the garden’s Zucchini Cart Championships proving one of the day’s highlights.
The second annual Harfest celebrated community, creativity and homegrown fun.
According to Warrnambool Community Garden convenor Courtney Mathew, the cart championships was a standout attraction.
“Twenty-nine racers sped down a purpose-built ramp in a fun contest of creativity, engineering and good-natured chaos,” Courtney said.
“The ultimate champion, fastest zucchini racer in Australia and winner of the Golden Gourd was Wangoom local Hugh Adams (with help from dad Muz), whose cart Yellow Submarine sailed its way to victory.”
The Beatles-inspired racer was a last-minute decision, built on the afternoon of the competition.
Hugh had originally planned to construct a bus-shaped zucchini cart but changed direction midway through the build.
“We were going to make a bus,” Hugh said.
“But once we started building it, the zucchini just looked more like a submarine so we leaned into it.”
With its bright yellow design and smooth run down the ramp, the cart proved both creative and fast, securing Hugh the championship title.
Dad Muz said the last minute design change paid off.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to go with what the zucchini tells you,” he joked.
As Hugh lifted the Golden Gourd trophy above his head, the crowd erupted into an impromptu chorus of “we all live in a yellow submarine,” bringing a fitting end to the race.
The prize for Best Crash went to race finale runners up Claire, Tina and family, whose racer Zoomabillia required extensive duct tape repairs before the final run due to the smash.
Best dressed was awarded to Virginie Lefebvre for Dragini, a culturally inspired with wheels made from CDs and a disco ball on the back - what it lacked in speed it made up for in style.
But organisers say the real winner was the enthusiastic crowd that gathered around the ramp, led by energetic race calling from Jordan Lockett.
Race organiser Andrea Pitkethly said she was thrilled with the turnout and creativity on display.
“There’s been some incredible artistic talent and some very serious lean, green zucchini racing machines,” she said.
“It warmed my heart and was a dream come true to bring this race to life.”
Creativity continued across the festival with the Fashions on the Field Scarecrow Competition, where participants crafted scarecrows from second hand clothing and beach debris collected by Beach Patrol 3280.
The winning entry, Deep Sea Purple Diver (created by Isla and Angus) impressed judges with its trash to treasure approach.
Between sets by local bands including Jacob Paton-Lee, The Hootie Tooties & Lisztomania, crowds were captivated by a lively performance from the Most Wuthering Heights Day dancers, whose red dressed Kate Bush tribute added theatrical flair to the afternoon.
Warrnambool Community Garden convenor Courtney Mathew said the event highlighted the importance of community connection.
“While gardening is our main focus, it’s so important to be able to come together and celebrate community,” she said.
“We’ve had lots of feedback on how welcoming the space is, with many people visiting for the first time commenting on how lucky it is to have an incredible facility like this in our town, and how good old fashioned silly fun is exactly what’s needed right now.
“We’re so grateful to our volunteers who helped put on this huge event, with more than 70 volunteers before, during and after and incredibly thankful to our community for coming along and supporting the garden’s work.”
Harfest is a community event raising funds for the volunteer run Warrnambool Community Garden, a not for profit organisation supporting sustainable food production and connection through gardening.
