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Einbunpin Festival Goes Virtual

Story: Jodie Woodward
Published On : Jun 23, 2020
EINBUNPIN FESTIVAL GOES VIRTUAL
For the first time in its 29-year history, the Einbunpin Festival is going virtual in 2020.

Councillor for Deagon Ward Jared Cassidy said the event has a rich history and is well known in the local community for being a free family-friendly event. Recent circumstances, however, have meant the festival is not able to go ahead as usual.

As chairperson of the Einbunpin Festival Committee, I had to make the difficult decision to cancel this year's Einbunpin Festival due to COVID-19 restrictions¯, Cr Cassidy said.

The festival is one of the biggest fundraising events of the year for many community groups, schools, sporting clubs and local businesses. So rather than cancel the festival entirely, the decision was made to continue in a virtual format.

I have reached out to stallholders and invited them to contact my office if they are interested in participating and a number of groups have already signed up¯, Cr Cassidy said.

The virtual stallholders will be invited to advertise products they sell or services they offer. This could be in the form of fundraising raffles or online promotions. Some groups are already looking ahead to how they can get involved.      

We love the festival and sharing the community history with the locals our show and tell¯ objects are always popular,¯ Sandgate Museum president Pam Verney said.

Come and dance with Jazzercise Sandgate a fun, effective fitness program that fuses dance-based cardio with strength training and stretching for a whole-body workout,¯ Cindy Sherf from Jazzercise Sandgate said.

School children won't miss out either. The Einbunpin Festival colouring in competition will still go ahead. Entries have been delivered to local schools and winners will be announced at the end of the month.

While the virtual event will be a great way to keep the Einbunpin Festival spirit alive, it's only a temporary measure to see through the current restrictions.

Next year will be our 30th Festival so we're looking forward to celebrating this significant milestone in the traditional fashion,¯ Cr Cassidy said.

The virtual festival will take place throughout July on the Einbunpin Festival Facebook page.