Beer Festival postponed to new date

CELEBRATIONS have been put on ice with this weekend’s Great Australian Beer Festival Geelong being postponed due to the evolving COVID-19 situation.

Organiser Kieran Blood confirmed the difficult decision to set a new date of April 2 was made after careful consideration and consultation with key stakeholders.

The popular event was set to take place in Johnstone Park this Saturday (January 15) with two sessions featuring 35 breweries and entertainment by an array of performers including headline acts The Badloves and Art vs Science.

Mr Blood said the good news was that both bands had been confirmed for the new date.

In an official statement on the GABF Facebook page, organisers said although the postponement was disappointing, “we believe this is the most sensible and socially responsible approach in response to the current COVID-19 situation”.

“Our top priority is the health and wellbeing of all people involved in our events, which means that despite being deemed low-risk by national and state authorities due to the outdoor nature of our festival, the uncertainty surrounding the escalating COVID-19 cases means that postponing the event date is the best way we can help mitigate the impact of the virus for all in our community,” the post stated.

All existing tickets to GABF Geelong will be honoured for April 2 or refunds are available to those who can’t make the new festival date.

“Please remember that by choosing to hold on to your ticket, you not only secure your spot at the new GABF date, you also support the events industry as a whole as well as all of the businesses and individuals affected over the past 2.5 years,” organisers said.

“If you wish to refund your ticket, please let us know by email and we will process this as quickly as possible.”

Mr Blood said it was disappointing to postpone given the strong ticket sales leading into the event, which has been held in Geelong since 2013.

“As a small events team, we are truly passionate about our industry and have been working around the clock to secure the best possible new dates for GABF Geelong,” organisers said.

“The Aussie spirit and camaraderie has always manifested itself into extremely well supported and successful events in the past and by staying positive and banding together we’re confident this trend will continue in the future.

“We really appreciate your support in these unprecedented and challenging times and are sure that as Australia emerges from the aftermath of COVID-19 we’re all going to be truly ready for a beer or two.”

For the latest updates on the festival head to facebook.com/GABFGeelong.