The Taste of Tasmania stellar results despite shorter event

They came, they saw, they conquered (especially the cupcakes). The crowd figures for the Taste of Tasmania are in ... proving Tasmanians have a sweet tooth and a generous spirit.

DESPITE being cut short a day due to severe heat and dangerous wind, attendance figures from the Taste of Tasmania show it was one of the best festivals on record.

Preliminary figures show this summer’s Taste attracted about 225,700 people, which was slightly more than the crowd at the 2017 Taste but lower than last year’s record 263,000.

Festival director Brooke Webb said it was on track to be a record year but the total was reduced by the need to close early one day because of the weather.

“We closed the site early on the Monday because of severe wind and brutal heat,” she said.

Faces at the Taste

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Ms Webb said the event lost about 45,000 people because of the closure, which happened not long after the gates opened.

She said it had been one of the most successful Tastes since the event begain in 1988, and stallholder takings were testament to the enthusiasm of the crowd.

“Figures from stallholders show they were able to make up the dollars that were lost from the closure,” she said.

Cupcake maker Ceri McCutcheon, who had the Liggabuff stall, said she had doubled her takings from last year.

Ms McCutcheon sold 4000 cupcakes this year, on top of a new range of ice-cream desserts. “It was an amazing year, everyone seemed so happy to be here,” she said.

Of her eight cupcake flavours, the crowd favourite was lemon meringue, made using lemons from her dad’s backyard.

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Bream Creek Vineyard owner Fred Peacock, a long-time stalwart at the Taste, said it was a record.

The week-long event finished on Friday, when the festival sold off its decorative pot plants to raise money for the Salvation Army Emergency Service teams responding to devastating bushfires around Australia.

Ms Webb said people’s generosity had been amazing and $5000 was raised.

“We asked for a minimum of $5 per pot but some people were giving $50,” she said.

“That generosity is what’s special about Tasmania – it warms your heart.”

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