Snowy Valleys Council received funding through the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery (RTBR) Grants in 2020 for the development and delivery of three single-day events. The events are to take place in winter 2022 in Adelong and Batlow. These towns were selected as they were significantly impacted by the Dunn’s Road Bushfire.

The project came about as a response to the need to restore visitor levels to the region to financially support local businesses who have been heavily impacted by bushfires (and now COVID-19). Snowy Valleys Council is located on the South West Slopes of the Riverina in NSW and was heavily impacted from fire during the summer of 2019-2020. The Dunn’s Road Fire and The Green’s Valley Fire joined to create one ‘mega’ fire. The fire burnt through 402,650ha of land over 50 days, or the equivalent of 45% of the LGA.

A festival that highlights local produce was selected for:

• Its ability to draw attendees from outside the region
• The gap of such an event in Snowy Valley’s annual event calendar
• An assessment of nearby competing events
• The potential to become a significant annual event for the region
• The opportunity to support and bring together local communities, businesses and producers.

The events will all be ticketed and will celebrate regional food, produce and beverages in a specially designed space that entices people to come out in the winter and experience what the region has to offer. Each event will run from Midday – 6pm and aims to celebrate and showcase a ‘hero’ element of each individual town and its respective region. This includes the beef and lamb from the Adelong region; the apples, hazelnuts and cider from Batlow; and the cool climate wines, chestnuts and berries from the Tumbarumba region. Each event will include live music and entertainment as well as the regional local produce on offer.