Madison Eastmond, Murray Pioneer

The Riverland Food and Wine Festival took over the Berri riverfront for the first time in six years last weekend, with the showcase selling out and returning with zero behavioural issues.

With tickets completely sold out before the 12noon start-time, the revamped day-long festival focused on local produce, wine, and entertainment that was enjoyed by 1200 Riverlanders.

Event owner Andrew Sarakinis, and event manager Caitlyn Larsson, said they were “extremely happy with the successful result” last Saturday.

“The festival was really well received,” Ms Larrson said.

“It was clear everyone was happy to have the festival back in the Riverland.

“We have had rave reviews about the local entertainment — McKenzie and Homegrown — and have had particularly great comments from the VIP section.

“It was a fantastic day.”

Ms Larsson said the only challenges of the day came from the high temperatures, with heat reaching over 35 degrees, and small “first-time hiccups”.

“While we had a lot of shade, you’re never going to have enough to cover an entire festival event space,” she said.

“However, we were offering free water throughout the day… this is something we want to expand on and make event goers more aware of going forward.

“We also had some challenges with wait times at the bar initially, but everyone was so positive, patient and worked with us really well.

“Everything else was pretty much seamless.”

Ensuring the celebrations were enjoyed in a controlled and safe environment, Ms Larrson said the festival’s focus on safety fencing, security, capped tastings, and a police presence led to zero behavioural altercations.

“We have received so many comments that this was the bestbehaved festival they have been to,” Ms Larrson.

“We had police walking around every half hour and security was a great presence too.

“There were no altercations of any sort — everyone was very well behaved.”

Taking on constructive feedback on the Riverland Food and Wine Festival Facebook page, Ms Larrson said planning for next year’s event is already underway and is promised to be “bigger and better”.

“There is room for improvement as always, and we’re super open to feedback that’s already coming in,” she said.

“Having an outdoor event with limited power, limited water, and limited shade provided some issues with the bar, but we already have ideas on how to fix that and make it so much more efficient next year.

“In fact, we’re hoping to go bigger and better in general next year.

“We’re hoping to host a threeday event — including a comedy event, a dinner, and a family day, on top of also hosting the Food and Wine Festival like we held on Saturday, but expanding it and including more local vendors.

“We’re pretty on track going forward — we’re excited to up the ante, while also keeping it super local and showcasing the Riverland.”

This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 12 March 2025.