Festivale Launceston photos: Days 1–3 gallery with 75 pics

“Back with a vengeance”: The recently concluded Launceston Festivale is being hailed as the best edition yet, as its chair gives a sneak preview of future directions for the beloved event.

Jonty Foon and Tyson Harris at City Park on Day 1 of Launceston's Festivale. Picture: Alex Treacy

The chair of the Launceston Festivale Committee Inc says the three-day party, founded in 1988, is “back with a vengeance” after its successful return to City Park last weekend following a three-year, Covid-enforced hiatus.

David Dunn said the committee approached the 2023 event with a sense of trepidation, but after all 28,000 tickets were gobbled up in the weeks and days leading up to the event, he took “comfort”.

This year’s event featured 60 stall-holders, 350 staff to work the stalls, 290 employees and contractors to run the event and 190 volunteers.

Festivale Launceston: Day 3 gallery

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Mr Dunn said that anecdotally, he had heard of stalls moving 75 per cent of their weekend budget just on Friday evening alone.

Festivale was “back with a vengeance,” he said.

He confirmed that next year’s edition would be held from February 2–4 and feature celebrity chef Matt Moran.

Festivale Launceston: Day 2 gallery

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There would be the possibility of an additional four to five food and beverage stalls, better infrastructure and a remodelled layout.

Mr Dunn said the fact that all ticket sales were conducted online meant the committee would be able to add sophistication to its marketing of the 2024 event, with a trove of data to analyse, including the proportion of attendees from Southern Tasmania, interstate and overseas.

He said he believed it unlikely City Park could host more than 28,000 punters over the three days.

Festivale Launceston: Day 1 gallery

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“We need to protect the integrity of the park itself and fit the infrastructure needed. For 10,000 people (on-site at any given time), we need to have 105 toilets,” Mr Dunn said.

Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson said Festivale, which is supported financially by the state government, said he believed “without a doubt” 2023 was the best Festivale yet. Mr Ferguson said he had only intended to pop in briefly on Saturday afternoon, but ended up staying “five hours” with wife Julie.

FESTIVALE KICKS OFF WITH A BANG

Festivale, Launceston’s ultimate summer party, has returned to its spiritual home of City Park following a brief Covid-enforced switch to UTAS Stadium, and the punters have shown their support in style: all 28,000 tickets sold for the three days.

Founded in 1988 as a boutique multicultural street party, over the years it has evolved to rival southern events such as Taste of Tasmania (now Taste of Summer) and it consistently pulls massive national music acts such as Eskimo Joe, The Whitlams and Vanessa Amorosi.

“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,” said Launceston Mayor Danny Gibson.

“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.”

Mr 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.

Festivale, which kicked off on Friday concludes on Sunday with headline performances by The Waifs and Thirsty Merc.