The Peninsula VineHop Festival has been awarded a grant through the Victorian Government’s Small and Medium Events Program, to support the delivery of the November 2023 event.
“We’re thrilled to be recognised as a high-quality event that brings visitors to discover the beautiful Mornington Peninsula,” said Lisa MacGregor, VineHop founder and event producer.
News of the grant comes amid uncertainty about the festival’s long-term future. “We are extremely grateful for the grant funding. To say the last few years have been challenging for the events industry and small businesses is an understatement. The cost of running VineHop has
increased by 40% since Covid-19, and we know event ticket sales are down across the industry,” said Lisa.
“As a small, locally-run business, we’re doing absolutely everything we can to manage the increased costs and keep ticket prices affordable for our customers while still delivering a memorable festival experience. But the reality is – if we don’t sell enough tickets this year, it’s likely this will be our last VineHop.”
In 2022, the festival generated an estimated $1.44 million of economic benefit for the region, including approximately 2,600 overnight stays. Of the 7,200 attendees in 2022, 50% were from outside the Mornington Peninsula region.
“The festival was created to showcase the dynamic craft beverage industry here on the Peninsula – with everything from wine, beer and cider to a range of different spirits, seltzers and spritzers.
VineHop has repeatedly delivered significant benefits to the region beyond the participating brands.” People are encouraged to purchase their tickets early to ensure accurate attendee numbers are known in the planning stages.
“We’d love the community to get behind VineHop this year. If you’re planning on coming, please book your ticket early. If you’ve been thinking about coming over the last couple of years, we’d love you to come along this year as it might be your last opportunity to take part.”
“Helping people discover the Mornington Peninsula and our incredible craft beverage industry is what drives us. We hope we can keep delivering VineHop for years to come,” said Lisa.
