February 4, 2019
The South Burnett Wine and Food In The Park Festival will be celebrating its 20th birthday on March 9, and organisers are planning another great family day out.
Over the past few years they’ve reworked the popular annual event to maximise South Burnett goods and services, and this year they’re aiming for a new high water mark.
“Wine and Food has always been about helping locals,” committee secretary Matthew Kenny said.
“Rotary, Lions, the SES and South Burnett First Aid Volunteers help us stage Wine and Food, and local sporting groups help us out with the thousand and one other jobs that come with putting on one our region’s biggest annual events.
“Our committee makes a donation to all these groups for the great work they do, and we’re happy to know they’ll be using the money to plough back into their own community projects further down the road.
“We also hire nearly all our equipment from South Burnett suppliers to push even more money back into the community, everything from tables and chairs to sound equipment.
“In the past few years we’ve also moved to using local entertainers almost exclusively because we know our region’s musicians are brilliant.
“We’re proud to have them on stage playing to all the out-of-town visitors who come to Wine and Food every year, and it’s turning us into an annual showcase for the best the South Burnett has to offer.”
The only disappointment organisers have is that local foodies aren’t queueing up to sell lunches and dinners at the event.
“We’d really like to get more local foodies involved, but there doesn’t seem to be enough depth in this segment at the moment,” Matt said.
“We certainly welcome local foodies who put their hands up to get involved, but we have to make up the balance with out-of-town operators because we want to offer guests the best variety of foods we can.”
Wineries have also been a slight let-down, with several of the event’s former high-profile local wineries closing in the past few years as their owners have moved into retirement.
“To ensure there’s a good spread we’ve invited wineries from nearby regions to take their place, which gives our guests a chance to compare South Burnett wines and wines from nearby regions side-by-side.
“We’ve also introduced craft beers and ciders in the past few years to provide another alternative for guests, and these have been very popular, too.
“On the bright side, the South Burnett has some new, up-and-coming wineries being developed and we hope to see them in future years once their wines have matured to the high standards our more established wineries have set.”
Matt was keen to stress that the festival promotes responsible drinking, and teetotallers were always welcome.
“For many people, having a day out in the park relaxing with friends, great food and non-stop live entertainment is what the South Burnett is really all about,” he said.
“Our focus is on providing a laid-back day that’s inexpensive and fun, and to help everyone stay safe we provide free iced water all day.”
This year’s Wine and Food The Park will be held at Memorial Park in Haly Street, Kingaroy on Saturday, March 9, from noon to 8:00pm.
Admission remains at $20 for adults, and under-18s are free.
