The Norwood Food and Wine Festival might be brought back to life, two years after it was canned because of ‘boozey behaviour’

THERE’S a good chance the Norwood Food and Wine Festival will be brought back to life, two years after it was canned due to too much “boozing”.

NORWOOD’S food and wine festival might be resurrected next year because the “dust has settled” two years after it was cancelled because of dwindling trader involvement and amid complaints it had become a mass booze-up.

Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Mayor Robert Bria has received his council’s backing to pencil in a $70,000 budget allocation for a festival on The Parade in February.

Mr Bria has proposed staging a more modest event highlighting local food producers and restaurants.

TELL US BELOW: Would you like to see the Norwood Food and Wine Festival held again?

“It will be inclusive of our very strong food manufacturers in Glynde and Payneham and our unique restaurants,” Mr Bria said.

“It’s a real opportunity for us to do something different and really promote Norwood, Payneham & St Peters as a food destination.

“It’s a much more modest amount than previous festivals because we anticipate the event will be smaller, but we need to scope that out.”

Mayor Robert Bria is hopeful the Norwood Food and Wine Festival will be resurrected.

He wanted the council to meet with local food businesses in May to discuss options for the event before the council discussed the idea further at a closed-to-the-public workshop in June.

“If it comes back in February it will be three years since the last event,” he said.

“I think the dust has settled enough for the council to identify the issues, look at the successful elements and find ways to improve to make a successful event.’’

Cr Paul Wormald put up a motion at last week’s council meeting to allocate “adequate” funds in the 2014-15 budget for a replacement festival.

It was lost 9:2, with councillors instead supporting Mr Bria’s plan rather than asking the council to commit to an unquantified amount before consulting with traders.

Cr Wormald said the festival would breathe life into The Parade.

“When people think about Norwood they think about (the festival) ... it’s created a vacuum,” Cr Wormald said.

The council axed the festival when the cost soared to $150,000 even as sponsorship dwindled alongside reduced trader participation.

Only 16 traders took part in 2012, compared with up to 40 in previous years.

Residents had also raised concerns about widespread drunkenness, noise, property damage and bottles thrown into gardens.

Bath Hotel owner Tony Franzon would welcome the festival’s return.

“I would be close to one of the longest serving participants in the event and I think they should have never gotten rid of it,” Mr Franzon said.

“To bring people onto The Parade I don’t know a better event.

“What event for $100,000 gets 100,000 people in? That’s $1 a head — nothing else can get that return.”

The focus will be on local food and restaurants, rather than being a “drink fest”.

Argo cafe owner Daniel Milky said while he supported the festival’s return, $70,000 was not enough to hold a successful event and believed its organisation should be outsourced.

“You can’t rehash the same thing and expect a different result,” Mr Milky said.

“It needs someone planning it all year round, not just council staff for three months.

“I’d like to see an event that incorporates more than just food and wine.

“It should amalgamate with the Fashion Festival, have market stalls and show off all the quirky shops on The Parade.”

Mr Milky said it needed to be a “classier” event and suggested an earlier finish time to avoid drunken “havoc”.

TELL US BELOW: Would you like to see the Norwood Food and Wine Festival held again?