Planning is underway for iconic Wellington festivals, Visa Wellington On a Plate and Beervana, to go ahead in 2020, with organisers, the Wellington Culinary Events Trust (WCET), pleased to announce new dates for both.
Throughout previous months, WCET has maintained its commitment to running Visa Wellington On a Plate and Beervana – both usually held in August – once there is more freedom of movement for mass gatherings. With easing restrictions, WCET is confident the hospitality sector and festival goers will be ready to experience the Festival this coming spring.
Visa Wellington On a Plate will run from 1-31 October 2020 and keep last year’s format of:
• Dine Wellington: 1-11 October
• Garage Project presents Burger Wellington: 12-31 October
• Cocktail Wellington and Festival Events will run all month long. The festival programme will be launched online on 24 August at VisaWOAP.com, with Visa pre-sale for event tickets, available from 31 August.
Beervana will run at Sky Stadium on 20-21 November. This date was secured for later in the month from a previously announced date to allow for a longer planning period and to accommodate a compressed local festival season.
Festival Director, Sarah Meikle, says “Now, more than ever, is the time to get out, support the hospitality industry and #lovelocal”.
“Hospitality is at the heart of what makes Wellington such a vibrant place to live, and continuing with Visa Wellington On a Plate means the industry will receive some much-needed reinvigoration, especially in Wellington’s CBD,” said Ms. Meikle.
“Like everyone else, we’ve had to make changes to the way our organisation and festivals operate, and adapt with rapidly changing circumstances. “In some instances, these events may look a little different, but the same core parts of what makes them so special are there. For example, for Visa Welly On a Plate we won’t be able to host international chefs, so our emphasis will be on community collaboration and celebrating the immense depth of culinary talent within the Wellington region.
“Likewise with Beervana, we won’t be able to bring international brewers here but distanced collaborations between breweries are still going ahead, and we’ll still be pouring their beers at the festival.
“Now we’re on the other side of lockdown, we’re so pleased to continue our plans for both festivals. Wellingtonians love them, and Visa Wellington On a Plate and Beervana have always attracted regional travellers. We strongly encourage everyone to get out and support local this festival season!”
The Wellington Culinary Events Trust is a not-for-profit trust established in 2014 to run iconic New Zealand events including Visa Wellington On a Plate and Beervana. Over lockdown, WCET worked with WellingtonNZ to produce At Yours with Visa Wellington On a Plate, an online directory of food and beverage services offering contactless delivery, click and collect and/or takeaway services.
