Kalorama Chestnut Festival

The Kalorama Chestnut Festival is a beloved Dandenong Ranges community event that has been running for over 30 years.

Come with your friends and family and enjoy all things chestnut with food and festivities planned throughout the day.

The Kalorama Chestnut Festival is hosted by the Mt Dandenong Preschool and Mt Dandenong Primary School, which organises a massive range of food and drink stalls to celebrate the chestnut season. Chestnuts are delicious and fragrant with a distinctive taste. They can be boiled, roasted, or fried and are very high in fibre and vitamin C.

The Festival has been running for over 30 years. It has become a local institution and a much-loved family day out for the local community and visitors seeking a taste of Autumn in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges. Each year, a new generation of local families take the reigns, lovingly carrying on the Chestnut Festival traditions and introducing just a hint of something new.

The kindergarten and primary school host several stalls and invite other market stall holders to join in the fun, making it a true celebration of the local Mt Dandenong, Olinda and Kalorama community.

At the heart of the Festival is the chestnut itself—a humble and underutilised nut that can be found in abundant supply throughout the Hills. Chestnuts have been grown in Australia for over 100 years. They are synonymous with autumn for the Hills community—the familiar smell of roadside chestnut roasting stalls is a special reminder of the changing seasons.

Local families come together each year for picking days, where everyone trudges out to a local chestnut farm and collects this year’s harvest. This is followed up by another fun night (for parents only!) where we peel these notoriously tricky – and prickly – little things! The power of this humble nut in bringing together the community is something to behold.

So come up to Mt Dandenong for this unique autumn event and then stay for dinner. Dress warmly, as it can get cold during the evenings and let the chestnuts and the mulled wine keep you warm!