March 9, 2018
Volunteers organising this year’s Wine and Food In The Park Festival didn’t turn up for work on Friday.
Instead, they spent the day in Kingaroy’s Memorial Park putting up security fencing and overseeing the construction of the main stage.
They also put up three large tents, installed power outlets around the park, and spread hundreds of chairs and dozens of tables under the trees.
They’ll be back in the park early Saturday morning to guide food stalls and wineries to their sites in the Gourmet Food Village.
They will also be setting up the rustic Craft Beer Garden and the Rotary Bar, putting up last-minute signage and checking that everything is ready for the thousands of people who’ll come through the gates from noon.
Guests at this year’s festival will be treated to eight hours of music between noon and 8:00pm from popular South Burnett performers, including the Kingaroy State High School Brass Band.
They’ll also be able to sample wines from four South Burnett wineries along with three visiting wineries from Childers and Kingsthorpe, and graze on a wide assortment of cuisines that cover everything from Hungarian langos to Asian street foods.
Non-wine drinkers will be catered for with craft beers, ciders, and mid-strength beer and mixers, as well as coffee, tea and soft drinks.
BOM is forecasting that Saturday will be partly cloudy with a slight chance of 1mm to 5mm of rain.
However, organisers are confident a few light raindrops – if they fall at all – won’t spoil the day!
“Over the past 19 years we’ve only had to cancel Wine and Food once, and that was when the 2013 floods put Memorial Park underwater,” committee president Dafyd Martindale said.
“We’re confident Saturday will be a pleasant Autumn day, but if a few drops do fall there are a number of tents in the grounds that festival goers can use to keep dry.”
The volunteers intend to post weather updates on the festival’s Facebook page on Saturday to keep intending guests up-to-date with local weather conditions.
“Historically, a lot of storms completely bypass Kingaroy, so if rain falls in other towns we hope people won’t presume it’s raining in Kingaroy as well,” Mr Martindale said.
“Chances are it probably isn’t, and we intend to keep everyone up-to-date using social media.”
The 2018 Wine & Food In The Park Festival will be held at Memorial Park in Haly Street, Kingaroy from noon to 8:00pm on Saturday, March 10.
Admission is $20 for adults, and includes $5 in bonus tickets that can be redeemed for iced water, a slushie or a wine cooler at the Festival’s site office, and under-18s are free.
