Cabin Fever festival online for clicks

As visitors trickle back into the region, the organisers behind this year’s cancelled Cabin Fever festival are turning online.

To celebrate International Chardonnay Day, a panel of vignerons will take part in Cabin Fever’s digital offerings.

Featured on Friday’s panel are Virginia Willcock and Evan Gill, of Vasse Felix, Deep Woods’ Andrew Bretherton and Julian Langworthy, of Abbey Vale Wines.

“Cabin Fever 2020 — the physical festival — was cancelled back in March,” co-director Erin Molloy said. “With the full program and tickets about to go on sale as COVID-19 hit, we weren’t really left with any other choice this year.”

A “small pot of funding” from the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River, City of Busselton, Australia’s South West and other tourism groups were helping to back the festival’s digital events, which kicked off for the first time last week.

Ms Molloy said the events had “the sole purpose of promoting the region and supporting our South West businesses, which is still relevant in this current phase of restrictions”.

As Phase 3 restrictions loomed, the festival would consider other avenues for promotion but the full winter festival would not return until next year.

The Friday Wine Bar digital forums screen online, with links and more information available at Cabin Fever’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

“We encourage everyone to follow along online, purchase South West products, and keep our favourite businesses afloat so we’ll be able to enjoy them for years to come,” Ms Molloy said.

Each week, the digital events will focus on different themes and winemakers.