No corks popped this year as Bitou pulls the rug from under Wine & Bubbly Fest
Source: CXPress
Arguably the most popular event on Plett’s culinary entertainment calendar will not take place this year after municipal sponsorship fell through – YOLANDÉ STANDER reports
PLETT Tourism announced last week that the Wine & Bubbly Festival, which was scheduled to take place next month, had been postponed to next year following the late withdrawal of Bitou Municipality’s financial support.
Bitou became involved in sponsoring the after the Plett Wine & Bubbly Festival’s main private sponsor withdrew its support in 2017. The municipality initially stepped in to ensure that the show went on, and was set to contribute to the festival again this year.
Plett Tourism was, however, recently informed that it would no longer do so.
Despite effort to obtain comment from the municipality, this was not forthcoming before going to print.
Cindy Wilson-Trollip of Plett Tourism said they were committed to the festival as it embodied the quality that people had come to associate with the Plett wine region. “Therefore we have decided to postpone the event, rather than produce a scaled down version,” Wilson-Trollip said.
“We are developing a new business model that will include sourcing private sponsorship and other revenue-generation mechanisms.”
She added that Plett Tourism and Plett Winelands apologised to all concerned. Those who had bought early-bird tickets have already received their refunds and will be comped to the festival next year.
The festival, which showcases not only the coastal holiday town’s growing wine industry, but also its locally-sourced and prepared food as well as resident performing arts talent, was initially held during the September/October period.
Last year, however, Plett Tourism decided to move the date to the Easter holidays.
The decision was part of the organisation’s strategy to increase awareness of Plettenberg Bay out of season, and to increase exposure to an international audience.
March also coincides with an existing outdoor and sporting events platform, with a leisure festival as well as the wine industry’s harvest season.
The fifth annual Plett Wine & Bubbly Festival was set to be more than just sipping on the area’s wine and bubbly, but a celebration of the coastal holiday town’s culinary and agricultural accomplishments.
This resulted from the fact that, over the past few years, there had been an influx of farm-to-table products in the area. Due to these products revered as being ‘boutique’ or small, organisers realised a festival of this nature was needed.
This year would have seen the inclusion of the Honeybush tea industry, one of Plett’s emerging agricultural products.
Garden Route Media