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Mike Heydon / Jet Photography
Toast Martinborough has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Wairarapa’s flagship food and wine festival is the latest in a long list of events to be canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bettors with tickets to Toast Martinborough were sent an email at 3pm on Friday informing them that the event on November 15 this year had been canned.
“Things have gotten more difficult in the changing landscape of NZ’s fight with Covid-19. We have had to reassess the potential risks involved in bringing together thousands of people, ”the organizers said in a message on the event’s website.
“We want to be able to celebrate Martinborough wines with you in appropriate style, without complications or risks. So, since there are still many doubts, we have made the call to cancel this year’s event. “
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The event would return in 2021, they said.
Tickets for this year’s event would be valid for the 2021 edition, or customers could request a refund.
Yesterday, the organizers of the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival canceled that event for similar reasons. Locally, the Wairarapa Balloon Festival and the Carterton Daffodil Festival have also gone offline.
Martinborough Toast
One of Wairarapa’s major food and wine events, Toast Martinborough, has been canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The general manager of the regional tourism organization Destination Wairarapa, Anna Nielson, said the news of the cancellation was a “great shock” for the region.
“We are extremely saddened to hear that they canceled.
“This is unprecedented. I totally understand the difficult decision they made. It’s about the safety and well-being of Toast festival goers, which has always been a priority for Toast. “
Nielsen ran the event for five years before assuming his current role and has a deep understanding of what it takes to organize such an important event.
“This absolutely fits in with their policy of putting people first and I understand that, but economically there will be a massive impact on the region and losing it is going to hurt.”
The flow effect of the loss of iconic events like Toast couldn’t be underestimated, he said.
“It’s not just the caterers and bands that get lost, it’s also the infrastructure. People like Toby from Noise Productions, the rental, the tents, the seats, the staff.
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Destination Wairarapa CEO Anna Nielson says the cancellation will be a major blow to the region.
“It’s the local groups that raise money by selling roadside hot dogs, it’s the Lions Club that Toast pays to do the traffic management stuff. It’s all those partner organizations that will be lost. “
This was to be the 29th consecutive edition of the event, which had never been canceled before.
Larry McKenna is the general manager of Escarpment Winery, one of the eight vineyards involved in the event. He and the other wineries were informed of the cancellation on Friday.
The decision was disappointing, but he understood the reason for the cancellation.
“It’s our annual party and promotional event, but that’s the reality these days. The organizers have weighed their options and done what they believe is responsible, and I support them in that.”
Martinborough Hotel Office Manager Janine Olsen said that while the event was not as big as it used to be, it was an important weekend for local accommodation and hospitality providers.
“Martinborough fills up, the city runs 100 percent on the weekend. People book their rooms the year before.”
The hotel had received a couple of cancellations after the announcement. Olsen said the hotel was full most weekends and was confident they could fill those rooms.
Earlier this week, the organizers of Martinborough’s fun Round the Vines run / walk canceled and took another blow to the Wairarapa event schedule.
