Festival doesn’t bear fruit

By Matt Romania

The much-loved Strawberry and Cherry Festival, renowned for fostering community spirit and drawing visitors to Bacchus Marsh, will not take place in 2023. The cancellation by Urban Markets less than four months out from the scheduled date has left many disappointed.

“There are several issues that have made the festival unfeasible for this year. Among them, the traffic management fees alone range between $34,000 and $50,000 due to the required road closures and highway controls” said Felicity Ashman from Urban Markets.

Derek Madden, Moorabool Shire CEO, explained that the cancellation is a commercial decision by the private event organiser. Mr Madden said Council has been involved in reviewing the event operator’s permit application, which included prospective attendance numbers, and advised Urban Markets about the necessary traffic management requirements from Victoria Police and VicRoads.

“We understand the organiser intends to run the festival in 2024 and is looking forward to working with Council in the future, and we welcome that opportunity. The Council has also helped identify potential alternative locations for the festival, where traffic management requirements may be less extensive.”

According to Ms Ashman, the entire cost of the event to operate is close to $100,000. The need to relocate the event off the main street to cut costs is planned, however assistance is still being sought, including for groundworks in time for next year’s festival.

Ms. Ashman has stressed the importance of community support, stating, “While we would love to keep the festival free for all to enjoy, we must address the reality that without sufficient funding, it becomes increasingly difficult to sustain such a large-scale event.”

Urban Markets has extended a call to action for community members, offering various ways to support the festival. These include spreading the word, volunteering time and skills, offering financial donations, and business sponsorships. Ms. Ashman voiced a strong message of unity.

“If each one of us does our part, we can preserve this cherished event for generations to come.”

Despite the pause in 2023, there’s a strong sense of optimism for the festival’s return in 2024.

“We remain committed to the festival’s success and its significance to the community. Therefore, we would like to start working on a solution to bring back the festival in 2024,” Ms. Ashman said.