March 17, 2015
Never say there’s nothing to do in the South Burnett … organisers of this year’s Wine and Food in the Park Festival had feared the large number of competing events scheduled on Saturday could affect patronage.
They need not have worried. Despite there being major events in Blackbutt, Nanango, Maidenwell, Cooyar, Kumbia, Wondai and Murgon, the crowds still came in droves through the gates of Kingaroy’s Memorial Park.
It seems its hard to beat sipping wine, soaking up the sunshine, listening to music and chatting with friends on a special Saturday afternoon every autumn.
Patrons began arriving at Memorial Park shortly after noon.
At one spot, members of Kingaroy State High School’s Class of 1995 gathered for their 20-year school reunion.
At another, the James Street Gang, held their annual reunion as they’ve done every Festival since 2002.
While final gate numbers won’t be known for several days, the Festival committee believes attendances were at least equal to last year and quite possibly higher.
This was the 15th time the Festival has been run, and as usual there were some tweaks to the event’s format.
“We’re always trying to keep Wine and Food In The Park fresh,” organising committee chairman Darren Schmidt said.
“This means we’re always trying new things. This can be a bit risky because some work and some don’t, but I hope regulars will agree that overall, things keep getting just a little bit better every year.”
Two changes this year were the inclusion of a non-South Burnett winery in the Giant Wine Tent, and the addition of some padded lounges near the craft beers stand.
“Both of these seemed to be very popular, so we will look at inviting more non-regional wineries next year, and we’ll certainly try to get the lounges back, too,” Darren said.
Another change the Festival made this year was to use exclusively local acts for the music. A decision was also made to shut down the main stage entertainment at 6:00pm and transfer the music to smaller-stage entertainment around the beer tent until 7:30pm.
“Early feedback we’ve had suggests most people would prefer us to run the main stage longer, like we have done in previous years,” Darren said.
“It turned out the second stage area was just too small for the number of people we had in the park, so we’ll take that on board and see what we can do to improve this in future.”
One thing unlikely to change, though, are the street performers that have become a hallmark of the Festival.
“We have had lots of positive feedback about the street theatre acts,” Darren said.
“They really help bring everything to life.”
The pre-Festival “Dinner Under The Stars” held in the park on Friday night also looks like becoming a permanent feature of future festivals.
“We were sold out within a week of announcing this year’s dinner,” Darren said.
“And despite a cloudburst, it turned out to be a really great night.”
The organising committee was also pleased with patron behaviour on Saturday.
“We have always encouraged responsible alcohol consumption and will continue to do so,” Darren said.
“We had lots of security staff and a strong police presence in the grounds.
“Wine and Food In The Park is a family-oriented festival and mums and dads trust us to provide a safe, fun, family-friendly environment. We take a dim view of misbehaviour and over the last 15 years I think that message has made its out into the community at large.
“This festival is a fun day for local residents and visitors, and a great way to relax. Thousands of people want us to keep it that way.”
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Update March 17, 2015: The Festival committee today announced the winners of a multi-prize raffle that was run at Saturday’s event. They are:
- 1st: Pioneer Room $100.00 dinner voucher – J Isaacson, Kingaroy
- 2nd: Commercial Hotel $50.00 dinner and meal voucher – G Winter, Kumbia
- 3rd: Crane Winery cheese platter and bottle of wine – B Hide, Wondai
- 4th: Endeavour Foundation Hamper – G Salmon, Kingaroy
- 5th: Commercial Hotel $50.00 dinner and meal voucher – T Litzow, Kingaroy
The committee thanked the businesses who’d donated prizes.
[Photos: southburnett.com.au, Clive Lowe Photography and Geoff Grevell]
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Took my family to the Wine and Food Festival at midday for lunch – 10 of us and there was only 1 or 2 food stalls open. Food Vendors informed us that they were told they had a 2:00pm start. You would think that at a Wine and Food Festival that opens its gates at midday that you could purchase lunch. Very disappointed, won’t be doing that again.