Strawberry Fields has been forced to cancel next month’s festival due to extreme flooding.
Scheduled to take place in the New South Wales town of Tocumwal from Friday, October 28th to Sunday, October 30th, the ongoing effects of La Niña have caused the festival to be put on hold.
“We are absolutely devastated to announce that we must cancel Strawberry this October,” a statement from festival co-directors says. “While the idea of throwing the first music festival exclusively accessible by houseboat, tinny, personal snorkelling or flotation device was somewhat tempting….we decided Australia probably isn’t quite ready for the concept just yet.
“The Murray river – which normally is the star attraction of our beloved festival – is currently at an unprecedented persistent high. After being in Tocumwal for a decade we have never witnessed conditions like this. Critical access and entertainment areas are currently metres underwater, and expert advice suggests the situation could only worsen from here.
The statement adds that there was simply “insufficient time” to find an alternative venue to host Strawberry Fields next month, meaning there was “no alternative but to cancel.”
Two huge Strawberry Fields sideshows will continue as normal: Mali blues outfit Tamikrest and many more will be playing Melbourne’s The Night Cat on Friday, October 28th (tickets here), while iconic Detroit heavyweight Moodymann and friends will take over The Thorn, also in Melbourne, on Monday, October 31st (tickets to be launched this week).
From today, Strawberry Fields ticket holders will be able to request a refund through Humanitix for October 2022. Ticket holders will receive an automated email from Humanitix enabling them to manually request a refund (excluding fees) within their platform. Refunds will close on 29 October 2022 at 12pm, after which time any tickets not yet refunded will automatically be rolled over to the 2023 dates.
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Festival organisers, however, are encouraging patrons to hold onto their tickets for the next edition of Strawberry Fields in November 2023, if they can.
“Expect Strawberry to be back in full power next November!” the statement adds. “We plan to drive all the surprises we had in store for October into fifth gear. As a proud underground event (that means no bar sales, no corporate sponsorship BS!), your support is really what makes Strawberry happen year after year and means the world to us.”
For more information on cancellations, visit the festival’s official website.
For more on this topic, follow the Live Music Observer.
