When winter takes centre stage
BEANIE … check. Scarf … check. Puffer jacket … check. Gloves … check.
The ultimate checklist for Tasmania’s winter festival season.
Where once Tasmanians battened down the hatches and hibernated for the winter, they now come alive and celebrate the cooler months with gusto.
Ten years ago we spent a lot of time and energy trying to convince visitors that the weather really isn’t as cold as they might think and clinging to the meteorological statistics that see Hobart pegged as the second driest capital city in Australia. These days, Tasmanians come out to play, visitors come in droves and winter has become a time of excitement, celebration and vibrancy. Tasmania is really beginning to own winter.
Through the winter festival season, we see our cultural renaissance take centre stage in Tasmania’s visitor experience. As visitors and locals embrace the quirky and creative, our brand is becoming more enviably distinctive and alluring, which in turn perpetuates a further groundswell of activity and innovation in cultural tourism.
We have just finished Dark Mofo and Winter Feast, where tens of thousands of Tasmanians, along with interstate and international visitors, enjoyed art, food and wine over three weekends
Recently we have seen some robust debate on the value of Dark Mofo, but at Destination Southern Tasmania, we believe this festival brings the community together, injects valuable money into the economy at a traditionally weaker time and allows us to see huge diversity of artistic endeavour and talent.
Yes, there is controversy, because that’s what art does sometimes. It can be confronting and divisive and often calls into question the norms, expectations and assumptions we take for granted. It’s also entirely subjective: what’s art to one is rubbish to another and vice versa. But surely that is the function of art: to ignite conversation, to represent the other side of the story and to open our minds and our hearts to new perspectives.
If we look at the figures closely, we are on the right track with steady growth. There are no juggernauts of over-tourism heading our way; there is a plan for sustainable growth and, most importantly for Destination Southern Tasmania’s members, the focus is on increasing regional dispersal and yield. There is still much to do, especially in regional Tasmania, to build the economy through tourism, in fact there are regional operators who are yet to witness first-hand evidence of the growth we are experiencing in our populated areas.
Dark Mofo also gives us the Winter Feast, where we can enjoy a huge variety of the state’s extraordinary food and beverage offerings, something we are increasingly renowned for and should be proud of.
The other reason we love festivals is their ability to attract people to this end of the state and the potential to entice them out into the regions. Festival of Voices started out on the East Coast this year, to a wonderful concert by Mental as Anything, followed by other events along the coast, before commencing the rest of the program in Hobart and surrounds. The program is immense, from Tasmania Sings, featuring school choirs, to the festival’s first-ever Singposium, which is aimed at anyone who sings in a community choir or likes singing, or anyone who has even thought about singing. In addition to concerts and performances, there are the City of Hobart’s pop-up performances, Pub Choirs and big community events, where anyone can learn a song and sing along.
The Huon Valley Mid- Winter Festival has seen consistent growth in attendance over its three years. Its first year saw 7000 attendees, second year 14,000, last year more than 16,000, and one day, maybe this year, it will crack the 20,000 mark.
More importantly, people
from all over the state, country and beyond head to the Huon Valley. Some stay there, some stay in Hobart, but all will have an increased knowledge of that area, which promotes return visitation and boosts the local visitor economy.
This year by my count the Mid-Winter Festival will feature 22 musical acts, including VulgarGrad, 8Foot Felix and Medusa’s Wake — go for the names, if nothing else! The festival has three performance venues: the Main Stage, the Storytelling Tent and the Apple Shed, and people are encouraged to come in costume to fully immerse themselves in the pagan wassailing ritual.
What is wonderful about these three winter events is their difference: different music, different vibe, different art. And attracting different audiences. But many of us go to all three and just marvel at the creativity, talent and innovation that Tasmania is capable of delivering.
Our children now look forward every year to rugging up and hitting the festival circuit, whether it be Dark Park or the Big Sing Bonfire in Salamanca Place or the amazing Wassail Procession in the Huon Valley. So many of us focus on this season as a time to connect, not just with our family and friends, but also with our place.
We will always have public debate about what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s appropriate and what’s offensive, but that’s a good thing. Long may it continue.
But let’s also revel in the business of embracing winter, and let’s own this slice of the year for Tasmania.
There are no juggernauts of over-tourism heading our way ... There are regional operators yet to witness evidence of the growth we are experiencing in our populated areas