Robertson’s Wacky Weekend discontinued for the good of the valley
THE ANNUAL Robertson Wine Valley’s winter wine festival has been cancelled… Having been enjoyed by revellers for the past 17 years, the Wacky Wine Weekend will not take place again!
“It is a bitter-sweet decision, but it was time,” said Robertson Wine Route manager Beatrix Galloway. Apparently the festival was giving the wines of Robertson a bad name [busloads of party-goers looking for freebies?] and despite an attempt to change the brand, recovery was deemed unlikely. On top of this, it was felt that festivals in South Africa are generally attracting fewer people due to the growing number of festivals…
“It was time to clean the slate and re-strategise,” said Galloway, mindful of what the consumer wants and what is beneficial to the organisation, what will increase tourism, stimulate long-term job creation and send out a positive message. “At this stage we are not rolling out a new festival in its place for 2020, but watch this space.”
The Robertson Wine Valley’s other festivals are unaffected, namely the Hands-On Harvest in March, the Slow Food & Wine Festival in August and Wine on the River in October.
• For the top wines of the district, see here.
Regarding the cancellation of the Wacky Wine Weekend. This was not an easy decision, but all festivals have a life cycle and Wacky’s has definitely come to an end. The numbers declined significantly again this year to about 6300 people. The RWV board also believes that the image of the festival is not as positive to the region as it should be. We are working on a concept to replace the festival with something better. A festival that showcases the best that we can do in our area.