Close to 100,000 visitors ate, drank and danced into the evenings at what’s being touted as the best Taste of Summer festival ever.
Minister for Stadia and Events, Nic Street, said this year’s Taste of Summer was a roaring success as visitors and locals poured through the gates to enjoy some of Tasmania’s finest produce.
“With over 30,000 visitors from interstate, the event is being hailed by both stall holders and patrons as the best Taste event ever,” Minister Street said.
“The event supports around 300 businesses, including over 200 suppliers and the 90 curated stallholders, more than one-third of which are new additions to the event this year.
“And Jon Stevens absolutely brought the house down on New Year’s Eve playing all the hits from Noiseworks and INXS to a big crowd.”
The Taste of Summer is a key event in the Tasmanian social calendar, coinciding with the iconic Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Christmas and New Year period.
With the festival increasing from a seven-day event to a nine-day event, organisers expanded the entertainment program to feature more artists from across Tasmania.
The event also provided a platform for local producers and suppliers from across Tasmania to showcase their products to a broader audience of both locals and visitors to the state.
Mr Street said the new event format allowed stallholders to take a break and re-stock after new year’s before opening again on 4 January.
“With organisers expecting a total spend at the event of well over $20 million, we know the stallholders have been kept busy,” he said.
The Rockliff Liberal Government is proud to be supporting the Taste of Summer with a $7.7 million investment over five years to attract visitation to the state and support Tasmanian businesses.
