EVENT CONCEPTS FOR CONSIDERATION

Expansion of Edge of the Bay

From community interviews, it was clear that Edge of the Bay is a hero event for the community, and one that stakeholders are eager to see grow and flourish in future years.

Edge of the Bay has the potential to be a major drawcard for family and youth across the Great Southern and Golden Outback. By expanding the event to include broader interests such water sports, music, art and wellness, the event will engage more facets of the community, and will have a critical mass of activities over the weekend to warrant overnight/weekend visitation.

A similar event in Perth, called Groundswell Festival has grown in recent years from a surf/skate focus to incorporate more art and wellness activities such as breathwork, yoga, ice baths and meditation, and now takes over a large part of the Scarborough foreshore each Spring. The Masters surf and skate competitions ensure that both young and mature community members are included.

The event is supported by Healthway through their Drug Aware brand, and a similar ‘healthy lifestyle’ message could be a tie in for future iterations of Edge of the Bay, which may help secure additional funding.

Survey participants were supportive of expanding this event to have broader appeal. It’s worth noting however, there were some concerns from stakeholders in the region about time of the year. December is a busy month, with end of year parties, school graduation, the annual senior’s dinner and Christmas parties. It is also a busy time for farmers, and as a result not all families can take part. Limitations around moving the event exist due to the set timetable for Battle of the Bay.

Re-imagining of Festival of the Wind

From all interviews with locals, the former Festival of the Wind was a well-loved event on the annual program. Locals especially loved the kites and flying installations, as this was a key way that community groups and schools were included in the festival. (It is noted that some elements of kite flying has been incorporated into Edge of the Bay).

In 2018, the event dissolved due to committee burnout and financial stress. Feedback from organisers said that the event was a testing ground for other event concepts, such as the Taste of Esperance and Art to Wear, as is often the case with umbrella style events such as this. Collaborative festivals provide regional businesses and community groups an opportunity to expand their capacity in a safe, collaborative way, as has been demonstrated by festivals like Gourmet Escape, which brought in event management teams to the Margaret River region. Locals were able to learn from and expand their realm of what was possible for their in-house events going forward.

Organisers of the Festival of the Wind said the decision to cancel the event was made based on the viability of the current model. (Reference: Festival of the Wind calls it quits, Kalgoorlie Miner, 28 June 2018, F Delalande)

“What we realised is that we have a model that requires a massive amount of volunteer time, with limited resources and the need for the community, in partnership with local government and stakeholders, to reassess what an iconic event for Esperance looks like.

“Esperance is very fortunate to have numerous arts groups. The strength in these organisations is exceptional and we hope that a new event is born from the creative people residing in them.”

It is imperative that a new event be positioned correctly to ensure community support and buy in, and it’s clear that Festival of the Wind had that. AHOY suggests revisiting this idea with a new brand proposition, better support, seed funding and a sustainable model for its continued success. View the Icon Event Development Example for information on developing a new icon event.

A food & beverage event with a side of conference

With some of the most sustainable and clean production environments, there is an opportunity to celebrate a range of products such as beer, gin, seafood etc.

For example Lucky Bay Brewing is currently the only brewery in WA that sources raw barley direct from nearby growers for their beer, yet as consumers become more mindful of where their produce comes from, this will likely expand to other breweries across the State. This unique selling proposition has event potential, along with providing an opportunity to promote the region’s primary industries side by side with a popular consumable like beer. A hybrid beer festival tied to a conference or symposium for the beer industry could attract attention from other breweries and primary producers, with sustainability, local produce and circular economies a big focus of many craft breweries. A large contingent of people living in target towns like Albany and Kalgoorlie would be willing to travel for beer.

The agri-food industry can be tied into the conference side of this event. Australia’s Global Business and Talent Attraction taskforce outlines the country’s reputation for having clean, green and safe produce makes Australia a compelling destination to develop, commercialise, scale and source the next generation of agriculture and food technologies. Conference guests to Esperance could see first-hand how clean, green and safe the produce is, with a pristine backdrop.

Highly curated food experiences with beauty as a backdrop

In order to run a food and wine festival, there needs to be a critical number of hospitality businesses that have the capacity to take part. To create a complete program of events, AHOY estimates that at least 10-15 food and beverage businesses would need to be involved, which is not yet achievable for Esperance. While the hospitality industry is still in its infancy, AHOY suggests starting small with highly curated, one-off food and beverage experiences and events that showcase the broader tourism landscape and can act as PR opportunities to gain media traction. For example, setting up dinner parties or long table lunches in extreme or stunning locations like Woody Island or Twilight Beach, collaborations with visiting chefs and local talent like Taylor Street Quarters, high profile media visits where you can tie in content creation for produce such as seafood, bushfoods, beer or gin at the same time, or collaborating with a product such as Yeti or Mountain Designs to use the experience as a brand activation with Esperance as the backdrop.

Wellness experiences in pristine locations

There was interest from the industry to incorporate wellness into an event strategy, given the pristine environment right on Esperance’s doorstep which is conducive to unplugging, unwinding and reconnecting. For example, a mindfulness weekend on Woody Island, multi-day hiking trips with Indigenous traditional owners, and touring-style experiences that take in multiple natural sites around the region. Each of these event ideas has the secondary benefit of promoting the natural environment, and marketing collateral can position the destination well as wellness hotspot.

Attracting conventions and symposiums

There is potential in future years for Esperance to pitch to industry bodies and not for profits to host annual conventions and events, once some of the immediate wins and short-term gains listed in this document have been achieved. Potential themes and conferences for consideration, that are authentic to the region, include:

• Australian Clean Energy Summit

• WA Tourism Conference

• Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference

• Future of Food Conference

• International Oat Conference

Several areas need improvement before considering the pitching process for conferences and corporate events, including:

• Additional high quality bed nights

• An audit of conference-style facilities, as well as service providers to support conference organisers

• Improved connectivity – WIFI and mobile phone coverage

• Adaptable caterers and hospitality fit outs able to supply food and beverage to conference-goers