BORDER closures following recent COVID-19 outbreaks interstate have forced the Riverland’s largest agricultural showcase to be cancelled for the first time in its history.
Event organisers announced on Monday the 2020 Riverland Field Days – set to be held on September 18 and 19 – had been cancelled due to existing and newly enforced restrictions surrounding COVID-19.
Riverland Field Days chairman Ian Webber said a large percentage of exhibitors and industry representatives coming from interstate would have made it difficult to hold the event in a safe manner.
“Twenty-five per cent of our exhibitors come across from interstate, so the restrictions were going to affect us,” Mr Webber said.
“There are local businesses that sell products, (but) they don’t run their sites on their own at the Field Days.
“They have representatives from the supply companies come to them… and most of those reps come from Melbourne or Sydney.
“Businesses would have been able to come to the Field Days, but they would have been severely hampered because they couldn’t get their reps to talk about the products.”
Riverland Field Days executive manager Tim Grieger said the cancellation would see Riverland hotels, businesses and organisations miss out on an estimated $1 million generated by the event.
“We estimate the direct cash input into the region that the event brings each year is around $1 million when you take into account accommodation and the meals that go with that,” Mr Grieger said.
“There’s the fuel exhibitors purchase to transport equipment and machinery to the site, marquee hire and then the advertising for the event.
“Within community groups, schools, charities and service groups, we estimate it’s about $30,000 which goes back to those groups.”
Mr Grieger said exhibitors who had booked for this year’s event would have the opportunity to use their deposit for the 2021 Field Days.
“We’ll bring it back next year and it will be brighter, bigger and full of energy,” he said.
“It’s a long way off. We’re going to say we’ll do it and hopefully this thing will be sorted out for it to happen.
“In the next couple of weeks I’ll be talking to exhibitors about the option of rolling over their application for next year.”
Mr Webber said the decision would mark the first time the Riverland Field Days was cancelled in more than 60 years.
“We’ve been through storms, flooding rains, dust storms… this is the first thing that’s stopped it,” Mr Webber said.
“We have not missed a year since the first field day in 1958.
“It is a major event in our region and state, and an important part of business promotion for the many exhibitors”.
“However, the health and safety of our volunteers, exhibitors and community comes first, and we don’t wish to hold an event where that could be at risk.”
Mr Webber said the Riverland Event Centre venue would remain available to hire for community groups or businesses.
“Our (task) now for the next 12 months is to push forward with the Riverland Event Centre marketing and trying to get smaller events to hire the site,” he said.
“That’s going to be extremely important to us as a funding source.
“Anything from parties, to meetings, to annual general meetings, caravan rallies (or) car rallies… as long as they can fit into the social distancing and government requirements for large gatherings, the site available for hire.”
For further information or inquiries regarding the Riverland Event Centre, contact Ian Webber on 0411 734 041 or Tim Grieger on 0409 099 122.