By JESSE GRAHAM
A YARRA Valley celebrity will be stepping out of the pages of history and into the halls of Lilydale’s Regional Museum on Sunday for a special Mother’s Day high tea.
Dame Nellie Melba, a significant historical figure in the area, will be the guest of honour at a special high tea on Sunday 11 May, made especially for mothers.
During the high tea event, Melba will perform a 20-minute theatrical performance, set in 1918 before Melba accepted her honour as Dame at the end of World War I.
History Teachers’ Association of Victoria’s Jo Clyne will be stepping into the role of Dame Nellie Melba for the event, and her script was developed using historical materials at the museum.
Visitors will be able to interact with Melba at the event, before the performance begins, and ask questions once the performance has concluded.
Yarra Ranges Regional Museum’s Curator of Public Programs Megan Sheehy says the event stayed true to historical records, and offered an interesting day out for mums on their special day.
“It’s an interactive performance – she (Melba) will talk through her associations with famous people. There are some interesting and quirky things,” Ms Sheehy said.
“It tells the personal side of Melba’s life – rather than being more about her performing career, it’s about the personal side of her life and her home out here in Coldstream.”
Tickets for the event are $65 per person, and two sittings of the high tea will be held on the day – one from 11.15am-1pm, and another from 1.30-3.30pm.
The high tea will include chicken and cucumber sandwiches, smoked salmon pastries, pear and almond friands, peach and raspberry tarts, chocolate éclairs, tea and coffee.
Bookings for the high tea are essential. For more information, call 9739 7234.
To celebrate the Dame Nellie Melba event and Mother’s Day, the Mail has a bottle of Coombe Farm’s Nellie Melba Blanc De Blancs (2011).
To go into the draw to win the bottle of wine, visit the Mail’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mailnewspapergroup and share, like and comment on the relevant post.
Winners will be drawn on Friday 9 May. Good luck!
