THE Riverland Wine and Food Festival is set to become a two-day event if it goes ahead this year, but organisers may be forced to pull the plug due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The festival, held along the Berri river front every October since 2002, is planning to add a Sunday event to its 2020 program, expanding on the previous single-day format.
Event committee member Kelly Wagner said the Sunday event would appeal to a different audience and diversify the festival’s offerings.
“For the Sunday, we’re looking to do a bit more of a relaxed, picnic-style, family friendly event,” Ms Wagner said.
“We have evolved over time into what the festival was last year, with the single-day party-style event on the Saturday.
“What we’ve been wanting to do is offer something a bit different to attract different audiences and make the event into a festival-style program, rather than just one six-hour event.”
Ms Wagner said the organisers were working under the assumption that the festival was going ahead, though there is a “degree of uncertainty” over what will be allowed.
“We’re looking to make a call (on whether we will go ahead) towards the end of June or beginning of July, which is normally when tickets go on sale,” she said.
“We’re hoping in the next few weeks that we’ll get some clarity around what we’ll be in the position to do.
“Obviously we are a bit reliant on what announcements are made by the Government, but we’re hoping by at least mid-July we’ll have some indication of whether we’ll be able to go ahead or not.”
Ms Wagner said it would be a “disappointment” to see the festival – which draws visitors from across South Australia and interstate – cancelled in 2020.
“We’re still really hopeful that it will go ahead, because it does deliver quite a bit of benefit to the region,” she said.
“We’ve estimated with the single-day format the festival generates about $1 million for the region each year, and with the extended format giving people another reason to stay around for a bit longer hopefully that means an even bigger contribution.
“If the event doesn’t go ahead it would leave a gap and be a big disappointment, so if we’re in a position to do it, we’re really keen to go ahead because it is important for the economy and the community.”
If it goes ahead, the 2020 festival will be held on Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18.
This year’s event will be cross-promoted with the Riverland Wine Show, scheduled to take place just before the festival on Thursday, October 15.