The announcement by VANFEST organisers early this week of the relocation of the event to Bathurst came as a huge shock to Forbes.
“After making Forbes its home for eight wonderful years, VANFEST is relocating and set to make its mark on the iconic location of Mount Panorama in Bathurst,” the organisers said.
Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller said Forbes Shire Council was extremely disappointed the decision had to be made for the music festival to move from Forbes.
Organiser Matt Clifton acknowledged and thanked the Forbes community and Forbes Shire Council for its support over the past eight years. “Forbes Shire Council has been a pillar of support from the very beginning for VANFEST and I am incredibly grateful for those partnerships.” He said the community support from Forbes had been massive. “It was a really tough decision to make but one we needed to for the future of the festival,” said Matt.
“We are proud of the economic stimulus the festival brought to Forbes – it is our place of origin, our hometown. However, we need to stay sustainable and the move to Bathurst means we can expand, it means we can re-energise and support the broader region’s music and tourism sector which were severely impacted by COVID.”