SOME south-west event organisers are determined to push on despite many cancellations as COVID-19 case numbers grow.
Warrnambool City Council's BeachFest 2022, which features an array of family-friendly summer activities, is steaming ahead, while Princetown's Loch Hart Music Festival is running this weekend.
Loch Hart Music Festival director Jayden Bath said the festival was not affected by restrictions introduced earlier this year.
"Because we don't have any indoor areas, the outdoor dance floors can still go ahead and density limits do not apply," he said.
"If the state government shuts us down we'll deal with that, but they're being very careful with their wording to allow outdoor events to still run."
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Mr Bath said the event was going ahead because of the planning that went into it. "We need to try as we're invested so much time and effort," he said. "It takes about six months of planning for a specific date."
He said the festival could not be postponed easily. "We can't just postpone to next week," he said. "We'd have to postpone for at least another six months away. Around two weeks ago we were almost at a point of no return."
Preparation for this year's festival took more than two years due to not running. "We're an outdoor boutique festival on a giant farm, so it's as safe as we can get at the moment," Mr Bath said.
Warrnambool City Council chief executive officer Peter Schneider said leading into summer and with the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, all BeachFest activities were designed to take place outdoors.
Mr Schneider said in line with state rules, all people attending the events that were 18 and over must show proof of double vaccination. "We aim to deliver BeachFest in a COVIDSafe way and encourage everyone to maintain positive COVID habits," he said.
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Lillian Altman
Lillian is an experienced journalist who joined Warrnambool Standard in late 2021. She has a particular interest in writing stories on the arts and culture, health, education, breaking news, police stories, as well as human interest and profiles.
Lillian is an experienced journalist who joined Warrnambool Standard in late 2021. She has a particular interest in writing stories on the arts and culture, health, education, breaking news, police stories, as well as human interest and profiles.
