Mayor welcomes return of Festivale to City Park

Published on 01 February 2023

Launceston Mayor Danny Gibson has welcomed the return of Festivale to Launceston's City Park.

Tasmania's premiere food, wine and entertainment event will be held in City Park from Friday February 3 to Sunday February 5.

"It's incredibly exciting to see Festivale returning to City Park and the City of Launceston is proud to be a long-term sponsor of such a popular event," Mayor Gibson said.

"Festivale celebrates everything Northern Tasmania has to offer, including our status as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

"There's an enormous amount of effort that goes into hosting an event like Festivale, and I want to thank the event committee, volunteers, stallholders and City of Launceston staff who make Festivale what it is."

Mayor Gibson said a range of works had been completed in the park in recent weeks, including the repainting of the City Park Band Rotunda, preparation of lawn areas and garden beds, and tree pruning.

"I know the parks team at the City of Launceston takes a lot of pride in getting City Park ready for events like Festivale, and it's the culmination of many weeks of work each year," Mayor Gibson said.

The City of Launceston's Parks Services Supervisor Wally Medwin it was exciting to see the event taking shape as the park prepared to host an expected 30,000 patrons over three days.

"The Festivale team are great to work with and the lead-up to Festivale is an exciting time of year for everyone involved," Mr Medwin said.

"The biggest challenge we have from our perspective is getting the moisture levels right in the lawns.

"City Park is approximately 15 acres and much of it is lawn. In the lead-up to an event like Festivale, we have to put a lot of thought into our irrigation program, the heights that we cut at, and the lawn care and maintenance we're undertaking.

"We're constantly checking the weather because we need the lawn to be in the Goldilocks zone — not too wet and not too dry.

"If the grass is too wet, the grounds will turn to mud during the set-up phase, and if it's too dry it's difficult to bring the lawns back after the event is over.

"Once the event is over, we bring in a machine to core the lawns; it's essentially a cylinder covered in spikes. It alleviates any compaction and allows us to get water into the lawn quickly, along with fertiliser and sand."

Mayor Gibson said the City of Launceston was proud of its association with Festivale.

"This is a very popular event, which draws people to Launceston, showcases what we have to offer, and which has so many economic, social and cultural benefits," Mayor Gibson said.

"We're really pleased with how the grounds are looking and we can't wait to see City Park filled with people for Festivale 2023."