at the weekend.

The Sesame Street characters are not a normal sight among the wineries of Rutherglen, but they were welcomed yesterday.

Skipping among the vines at St Leonards Vineyard at Wahgunyah, the pair stopped for pictures by possibly more adults than children.

A disappointed groan came from woman in her 20s, when Elmo, or Sean Arundell from Canberra, took off his mascot head for a short breather.

“The fantasy is gone,” she said, before Sean quickly put his head back on, and yet again, became the cuddly TV monster.

Taking advantage of the great weather, Border residents and city visitors sat on the grass and quietly sipped wine under the trees.

It was a different story in Main Street, Rutherglen.

It felt more like the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne.

Market stalls sold every thing from dog beds to roasted nuts, and a 10-metre-long line queued for barbecued sausages.

Children eating fairy floss and holding show bags, were clutched to their parents.

Ella Cheeseman, 8, of Rutherglen, took to the Ferris wheel with her cousin Georgia White, 7, who was visiting from Ulladulla.

“I like coming because you get to see all the people dressed in funny things,” Ella said.

“I saw Snow White before.”

And the was an abundance of people “dressed

in funny things”.

Stepping in to the Star Hotel on Main Street felt like stepping in to a time warp, with most of the patrons dressed in 1970s clothing.

Meg O’Sullivan, of Yarrawonga, was so dedicated

to her group’s “gogo-disco” theme, she paid $20 for some John Lennon-style glasses, with small circular lenses and thin wire frames.

In her fur coat and white knee high boots, she was feeling the heat.

“We’ve come the past three years and never dressed up before,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

“But I think when you see people who haven’t dressed up, they look at you and seem disappointed they didn’t.”

“We’ve got everything in our group, Steph is a human disco ball.”

But back at the wineries, away from the hustle and bustle, Geoff and Carolyn Smith, of Yarrawonga, were sampling what the Winery Walk about is all about: good wine.

They strolled through the St Leonards vines as their children kicked a football on the lawn.

“It’s a great setting here, it feels very homey, sort of historic,” Mr Smith said.