The Maldon Twilight Dinner 2023 is set to be bigger and better than before with the possible addition of a Friday Night Market.
The committee is awaiting council approval to include a free Twilight Market to showcase local street traders, food trucks, produce stalls, bands, and swing and belly dancers.
After conducting research last year, the committee found that while most of the visitors to the Twilight Dinner stay in accommodation Friday and Saturday nights (due to the two-night minimum on most stays), most of these visitors were spending the Friday evenings in Castlemaine. Event organisers hope to encourage visitors to stay in Maldon by extending the festival to include activities, music, food and stalls on Friday.
The move to a two-day festival has resulted in concern from some local businesses regarding extending street closure hours.
Cr Stephen Gardner told the Times he has had a number of local traders contacting him with concerns regarding the event and the subsequent street closures.
Pamela Jewson, the organiser of the event, has told the Times, “The proposal is to close the street on Friday from 5.30pm until 9.30pm, which shouldn’t affect local trade. There won’t be any fencing for the Twilight Market, and local stores will be able to remain open. If the council approves the event, the street will have one-lane access for overnight traffic.”
Event organisers are hoping to close the street at 10am (in the past closed at 11am) on Saturday 21 January, to allow additional time for volunteers to set up for dinner, including white picket fencing along the shopfronts on Main Street in place of the controversial hurricane fencing that has been used for the past few years (with the exception of hurricane fencing at each end of the street).
“We are trying to alleviate stress for the volunteers by allowing more time for set-up before the heat of the day,” said Pamela. “Moving heavy tables and chairs in the summer heat, especially for our older volunteers, can be difficult; we’re always racing against the clock.
“I have worked closely with the council for seven years to ensure we run a slick, professional event that doesn’t cut corners. Restrictions and regulations have changed dramatically over that time, and of course, in the last two years, we have run an event through the middle of a pandemic,” Pamela told the Times.
“I agree not everyone is happy with street closures, but they are the minority, and it has never stopped the event before from being a huge success and boost to the town’s economy.”
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 16 September 2022.
