More winter festivals showing success

Tasmania’s mid-winter festival Dark Mofo has secured new funding from the Tasmanian Government, totalling $10.5 million over five years.

The deal includes a commitment from Dark Mofo to increase the number of interstate and overseas visitors to spend winter on the southern island, grow attendance to the festival, increase media exposure and promotion of Tasmania, deliver a Tasmanian regional expansion program each year, and invest at least $250,000 in programming and support of Tasmanian arts-based organisations.

Dark Mofo Creative Director Leigh Carmichael said: “The five-year agreement that we have reached with the State Government is incredibly important for the ongoing success of the festival. The deal will give us the ability to expand and improve the festival, commission new works, employ and train more Tasmanians, reach further into the regions, and achieve our ambitious tourism targets.

“It will allow us the time and opportunity to develop meaningful long term partnerships with organisations like Tourism Tasmania, University of Tasmania, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Detached, Qantas and the Indonesian Government.

“We also hope to increase the presence of the ‘Paint the Town Red’ campaign and see more of Southern Tasmania bathed with that fiery red glow. Having the Hobart and Launceston airports on board this year really added to the carnival atmosphere, but the highlight was the Derwent Valley community, who got into the spirit and outshone Hobart in that regard.

“Ultimately, the festival is primarily being funded because of the community support, and we are very grateful for the passion and at times patience, that our amazing audiences have shown us. We’ll be doing our very best to repay that support by continuing to create unique experiences in the heart of winter, that are as accessible to as many Tasmanians as we possibly can.”

Dark Mofo was set up in 2013 to get Tasmanians out of their homes and visitors to the island during the traditionally quiet winter months. It has been an unqualified success. This year’s figures are still being tallied but last year, Dark Mofo brought an estimated $46 million to the economy and created 400 new jobs.

Another Tasmanian winter event showing success was the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival on the weekend. It drew 13,000, well over the expected 10,000, and is expected to pump well over last year’s figure of $1 million into the local economy. Celebrations started Friday night with a welcoming ceremony featuring the burning of a 6m effigy — The Burning Man — lit with a flaming arrow.

Tourism Tasmania CEO John Fitzgerald said these festivals were redefining Tasmania’s appeal in the cold months. Last year, 480,000 people visited the island between April to September, up 9% from 2014. According to Tourism Tasmania research, 70,000 visitors are attending just to attend an event.

Mid-winter events are also drawing trade in other parts of the country. The Hats Off To Country weekend mini-festival continues its mission to bring people to Tamworth during the low-scale winter period. It is put together by the Tamworth Country Music Stakeholders Group and sponsored by Toyota and Destination Tamworth. A scaled down version of the January festival, it still staged 100 acts over four days.

Venues as The Pub and Pig And Tinderbox said they had strong businesses. Among the sell-outs were Adam Eckersley Band at the Albert, Bill Chambers and Karin Page’s single launch at The Pub, The Viper Creek Band at the Longyard, Ashleigh Dallas at the West and Adam Harvey’s sixth fund-raiser for Give Me 5 For Kids for the local children’s ward in Blazes at Wests.

Other highlights were the CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music graduation concert, and a tribute show to country music identities, Gentleman Geoff Brown who is credited with bringing country music to Tamworth in the early ‘60s and died in 2000, his songwriter/producer and studio owner son Gary Brown (who died in 2012) and Tamworth’s first recording artist Buddy Bishop who died in 1995.

Another mid-winter gathering is the inaugural Lake Mac Winter Fest at Speers Point Park in Lake Macquarie this month. Live music from local players is part of the mix, along with market stalls, mulled wine and cheese tasting.