General News
19 January, 2022
Horsham’s cocktail caravan makes its grand opening
Sarah Mills talks about showcasing her vintage caravan cocktail bar to Horsham for the first-time on January 21.
HORSHAM’S river scene will be seeing a significant entertainment boost with the launch of Voddy and Vacay vintage caravan bar.
Voddy and Vacay will be celebrating its grand opening on Friday, January 21 by the Wimmera River near the Horsham City Rowing Club with its signature cocktails, other drinks including beer, ciders, wine, and spirits, as well as food platters.
Voddy and Vacay owner Sarah Mills said the idea of opening a river cocktail bar came during a holiday to Perth.
“I drove to Perth for a holiday in March last year and went to a really cool cocktail bar,” she said.
“We spent way too much money, but myself and my boyfriend wanted to just try everything they had on the menu.
“My boyfriend isn’t even a big cocktail drinker but he was loving it.
“I was wondering why we didn’t have anything like that in Horsham and eventually thought that was something I’ll just have to do when I get back.”
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Ms Mills and her boyfriend began looking for caravans after they had returned from their Perth trip and eventually found an old, neglected van in a backyard in Lascelles.
Voddy and Vacay had its first test on Friday, January 14 with family and friends.
Ms Mills said the test night was a roaring success.
“I definitely needed to do the test run beforehand … I had an idea of how things were going to work in my head, but you need to put it into practice to get a better understanding of how things are going to go.
“It went really well and got a lot of great feedback, so I can’t wait for the rest of Horsham to experience and share what they think.
“Some of my team members haven’t even worked in a bar or in any hospitality … but they were amazing, they just picked everything up so easily and quickly.”
Looking forward, Ms Mills said she already has more in store for Voddy and Vacay and hopes the opening will lead to a greater entertainment scene along the river.
“I would’ve liked to have had some live-music on the opening night, but the opening date just crept up so quickly … that’s something that will definitely be happening in the future.
“The plan is to run the caravan fortnightly and have the caravan available for hire for the weekends in between.
“Having lived in Melbourne for three years and coming back to Horsham, I really feel we’re lacking in our entertainment scene down the river.
“I feel we’re one of the only towns who don’t utilize the river … it’s so beautiful … so I do hope Voddy and Vacay helps build a more socially thriving river scene.”
