Since 1961, Myrtleford has held a regular public celebration organized by members of the community with clear, strong, broad-based community support. The Myrtleford Festival has a steering Committee of 9 and is run with a whole-of-community approach, engaging business, service providers and community groups as required. 2012 will see the celebration of the 52nd Festival.
The original festival was first known as the Tobacco and Hops Festival. It was held over the Labour Day Weekend - the harvest season. At times, the Festival has also been held over the Easter period. With the introduction of a third major local industry, it became known as the Tobacco, Hops and Timber Festival in 1981.
In November 2008, the Festival was renamed The Myrtleford Festival, and it is once again held over the Labour Day long weekend in March.
The purposes of The Myrtleford Festival Association Incorporated
To promote primary, secondary and support industries within Myrtleford and District
Primary Industries - includes but is not limited to farming (grapes, vegetables, grains), pine plantations & hops production. Includes companies such as Hancock Victorian Plantations, Carter Holt Harvey, Greenfreight and Eurobin Hop Gardens, just to mention a few.
Secondary Industries - Alpine Shire, Alpine Health, Ovens & Kiewa Community Health
Support Industries - all local businesses
The Festival supports these industries in return for their sponsorship, which is promoted via the Festival website, program, flyers & posters, as well as during Festival advertising campaigns in local print & electronic media.
To promote tourism within Myrtleford and District
Local business and industry is highlighted through industry tours, market stalls and in media promotion of the Festival. This benefits the local hospitality & accommodation industry, as well as lifestyle/activities outlets and venues.
To generally promote Myrtleford and District
This is a Community Festival that showcases the services & facilities which are available for & within the Community.
To foster local talent in all fields of endeavour
Fostering and promoting arts through events such as the Arts Prize, Photographic Exhibition, Flowers & Embroidery Exhibition, etc. These Festival activities are directed at all members of the community, but with a particular focus on youth.
Benefits to Organisations and Businesses
Forming partnerships within Myrtleford community and businesses. Whether these are formal or informal, through sponsorship both of cash and “in kind” goods & services. For example, many of the venues are provided at no charge by Alpine Shire and local Churches.
Benefits to the Community and Strengthening Ties to the Community
The events held during the Festival focus on lifestyle, family values, good sportsmanship, competing in a positive way, team building, physical activity, mental health & wellbeing, arts, history and viability.
These could not be held without the numerous support systems throughout the community. The Festival incorporates diverse communities, from a wide range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. There is access for those with disabilities to most Festival facilities.
The Festival Dots promotional campaign was started in 2007 as a way to increase Community involvement in the build-up to each Festival. This fun campaign has created goodwill for both businesses and residents, and has been enthusiastically accepted.
The Saturday Night Street Party provides an opportunity for people to come together in a relaxed, safe, social environment which stimulates conversation & wellbeing for the whole community. The Street Party actively promotes local produce, food, music and entertainment. The popularity of the Street Party has seen the free live entertainment extended to incorporate more acts, from 11:00am to 10:00pm. A short break between 4:00pm - 5:00pm makes way for the Rotary Street Parade. The majority of food and drink vendors in the Market remain open for the whole day & evening.
Opportunities for Improvement
In 2008, issues with the programming of events were addressed. The Saturday Parade was held later in the day at 5pm and was followed at 6pm by the street party, alleviating down time between events. This change proved both successful and popular. A new website was developed in 2008; because of the program used to create this new site, it was unfortunate that some community members were unable to access it. This was addressed, and the website you now view is the site developed by Alpine Link and Stonesthrow IT in early 2009, using CMS technology by Joomla. The Committee is now able to manage the site themselves, ensuring that it is always up to date and informative!
Sponsorship
Each year, the Festival Committee canvasses local Businesses & Government to seek funding and sponsorship for the Festival.
In particular, organisations which act as Major Sponsors receive active promotion of their support.
Including local businesses and community members in each Festival helps to drive an overall change in direction for Myrtleford and its surrounding districts, by promoting our Festival as one that supports our community through:
The Myrtleford Festival is truly a Family Festival!
