The Blossom Festival Committee said in a statement this week the 2023 event followed one of the most successful festivals on record in 2022, which was the 65th anniversary event of the festival.
The committee was conscious of the fact 2023 attendance numbers would likely be down on the previous year given the significance of the 65th festival.
As such, the budget was set assuming a more normal level of attendance would be achieved in 2023. This ensured entertainer/supplier costs were maintained at a sensible level to avoid the risk of any material cash deficits being incurred.
The weather before the event was bad and resulted in Friday night’s proceedings cancelled.
Early-bird ticket sales were down on prior years.
But the weather came right on the day for Saturday in the Park, which resulted in strong on-the-day-sales and attendances at the event, the committee said.
It was estimated parade and attendance numbers were 15% down on the 2022 event — which was broadly in line with the committee’s forecast expectations.
Given the poor weather in the run up to the event — and the fact Friday night’s events were cancelled — the committee was extremely happy with the outcome of the event in the end.
"The impact the weather nearly played on the main Saturday in the Park event further reaffirmed how important our key sponsors are to the event and how important it is for the committee to have sufficient cash reserves set aside to deal with any unforeseen issues/cancellations," Blossom Festival treasurer Tim Coughlan said.
Festival chairwoman Sharleen Stirling-Lindsay welcomed and thanked returning committee members Rachael Lovering, Michelle Davies, Ian Gare, secretary Cathy Marsh, Mr Coughlan and Tony Hammington.
The festival returned a surplus of $5360 for 2023 compared to $5867 in 2022.
