Event team struggling

A Horsham group has encouraged people to embrace community and social events in 2022 as businesses cope with a hesitant community and uncertain events schedule.

Horsham Agricultural Society has provided some insight into the obstacles event organisers are facing while trying to operate amid COVID uncertainty and a cautiously social public.

Society executive administrator Andrea Cross said the events industry was one of the hardest hit in the pandemic and the stay-at-home mentality built into people’s mind early in the pandemic had re-established itself in 2022.

“There is definitely a real feeling of anxiety from the community we would normally see at our events,” she said.

“Ticket sales this year for our upcoming events have been slow compared with last year.”

Mrs Cross said tickets to Horsham Agriculture Society’s 150km Feast on February 19 were still available, while last year’s event sold out in under two days.

“It is a tough space to be in, when you lose income with cancelled events, then try and recover by adding additional fundraisers to survive and not knowing what’s around the corner,” she said.

Horsham chef Stewart Neighbour, who has collaborated on a menu for agricultural society fund-raiser Fifty in the Shed in early February, said he was eager for people to ‘live with COVID-19’.

“At some point we have to grasp the reality that we have to live with COVID, without it being detrimental to peoples’ health and business operators’ wellbeing both financially and emotionally,” Mr Neighbour said.

Mrs Cross said despite business compliance with COVID-19 protocols, it might take people years to consider becoming more social again.