It’s almost crunch time…. The Apple Fair is just over four weeks away! If you’re a new family in 2024/25 and don’t know your Granny Smith’s from your Pink Lady’s…scroll right down to the FAQs below for a run-down on the Apple Fair.

Event details:

Sunday 16 March
11am – 4pm
School Oval
Bring – Gold coin donation, keep cup for coffee and Airtag your kids because they’ll be off living their best life. 😊

So what’s new in 2025?

Extra rides and amusements (think Silent Disco, Scrambler, Giant Slide, Ultimate Obstacle course and plenty more), a restructured wristband and ticketing system (heaps better value, promise!), silent and live auctions with incredible prizes and experiences (did someone say pilot boat and hot air balloon?) and new stalls including pre-loved books and clothes, woodfired pizza and sushi (thanks Groove!)

What old favourites will we see again?

The chocolate wheel and bake sale, Sideshow Alley games, our low-waste promise (no rubbish, reuseable or recyclable only), and elite beats from the familiar Good Faces 4 Radio, Dallas, Cookie Robinson and DJ Rob Major.

Watch this page for important info over the next month. But this week we’re asking for three things.

Volunteers. We need about 265 helpers for hour-long shifts on the day. Sign up below. Please and thank you!
Chocolate + toys. We are collecting bars of chocolate for the crowd favourite Chocolate Wheel (spin and win!) – any brand, any size. Thanks for the generous pre-loved toys collected last year…if you have any more teddies, dolls or good quality items you would like to ‘rehome’ it’s not too late. These are used as prizes in Sideshow Alley. Hand in to your classroom teacher or pop in the staffroom by Friday 21st Feb.
Items for auction. Generous local businesses and families have donated vouchers, items, services and experiences all up for grabs. Could you chat with your friends, family or business contacts who might be willing to support the school? The auction is the biggest earner of the day – and it’s entertaining to watch the last-minute jostling! A taste of the line-up so far includes accommodation in Melbourne, a landscape design package, a surfboard, signed football jumpers, Presidents’ lunch game day tickets and plenty more. Please email us with any offers or leads - applefair.ogps@gmail.com.

In particular we would love our ultra-special parents and friends with first aid (medical + health/lifesavers/emergency services etc) to sign up to the first aid shifts if you can. This would be a huge help and save the hard-earned fundraising dollars for other things.

Volunteers sign up here!

Stall & Roster Link	Roster Link	Location
Foundation – Book Stall	https://volunteersignup.org/PR9JJ	Soccer Pitch	Morgan Jamieson & Cat Heil
Grade 1 – Bake Stall	https://volunteersignup.org/JWQDX	Oval	Anna Metcher
Grade 1 – Silent Disco	https://volunteersignup.org/WBPK7	Oval	Emily Gardener
Grade 2 – Land-a-Coin	https://volunteersignup.org/E9PR8	Soccer Pitch	Pip Diery & Molly Callaghan
Grade 2 – Splat the Rat	https://volunteersignup.org/YTW8R	Soccer Pitch	Pip Diery & Molly Callaghan
Grade 3 – Pop Corn	https://volunteersignup.org/YADWR	Oval	Steph King
Grade 3 – Ice Cream	https://volunteersignup.org/QYPC8	Oval	Steph King
Grade 4 – Silent Auction	https://volunteersignup.org/PPYKJ	STEM shed	Georgia Fiske
Grade 4 – Tin Can Alley/Sling Shot	https://volunteersignup.org/HXFEB	Soccer Pitch	Pip Diery & Molly Callaghan
Grade 5 – Sushi by Groove	https://volunteersignup.org/Y7BQD	Oval	Steph King
Grade 5 - Fairy Floss by Cotton Buzz	https://volunteersignup.org/4PJER	Oval	Steph King
Grade 6 – Tattoos, Hair Spray & Hair Feather Plaits	https://volunteersignup.org/37B4X	Soccer Pitch	Pip Diery & Molly Callaghan
Float Runs - (must have a DET approved police check)	https://volunteersignup.org/RKEJR	Office	Lara Field
First Aid Tent (first aid trained or medical professionals only please)	https://volunteersignup.org/Q7XQJ	Outside STEM shed	Adele Smith
Ticket Booths x 2	https://volunteersignup.org/AY7WK	Outside STEM shed	Lauren Abela
Bar	https://volunteersignup.org/J4MLD	Oval	Darcy Brown
Dishwashing	https://volunteersignup.org/QRT9R	SLC Kitchen	Kate McCallum
Entry Gate – Draper Street	https://volunteersignup.org/HQXQC	Draper St Gate	Adele Smith
Entry Gate – Asbury Street	https://volunteersignup.org/PAFTB	Asbury St Gate	Adele Smith
Entry Gate – Field Street North	https://volunteersignup.org/AK7YP	Field St North Gate	Adele Smith
Set Up (Sat 15 or Sun 16)	https://volunteersignup.org/YRKH8	Oval	Adele Smith
Pack Up (Sunday)	https://volunteersignup.org/JBAWA	Oval	Steph King
Pip Costume (Grade 6 Kids)	https://volunteersignup.org/BPXFY	Grade 2 classroom to change	Adele Smith

FAQS

What on earth is the Apple Fair?

It’s the major fundraiser for OGPS, raising over $30,000 each year for much needed projects such as the new outdoor learning space next to the library (thanks to the 2023 Apple Fair!). The event been running now for 27 years….it’s kind of a big deal 😉

What happens at the Apple Fair?

Thousands of fun-seekers come together on the school oval to enjoy a family day out. There is a stage with live music, food vans, market stalls, rides, amusements and more. It’s everything you would expect from a community fair but obviously way better….because, well…OGPS! It’s not just for school families either, folks from all over the Bellarine (and as far as Ballarat and Geelong) make the annual pilgrimage to the Apple Fair. Check out the vibe on Facebook or Instagram - @oceangrove_applefair

Who organises the Apple Fair?

Parents do! Besides the 20-strong Apple Fair Committee of stellar planners, the entire fair hinges on hundreds of parents volunteering their time and good humour on stalls or other tasks. The kids absolutely love being involved and it’s the stuff primary school memories are made of.

Why wasn’t there an Apple Fair in 2024?

The Committee played around with dates, testing out the fair in the months of October and March. In 2023, after the October event we decided it to move it back to the traditional month of March. It was too soon to run another Apple Fair only five months later, so there has been an 18-month gap. We intend to stick with March going forward, either every year or second year (depending on volunteer support.)

OK this is all good….but just one last question…why apples?

Back in the 1800s the site of OGPS was actually an apple orchard. It’s in our DNA! And who doesn’t love a toffee apple!?

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