After having been cancelled last year due to COVID-19, Narrabri’s popular regional food and wine event Nosh 2021 was set to make a comeback in September.

Unfortunately, as NSW restrictions have tightened this month, the festival is suffering the same fate once again.

While the Narrabri Nosh committee planned on scaling the event down, from a large market day to a surprise dining experience, uncertainty around the pandemic caused the committee to cancel this year’s festival altogether.

President, Penny Jobling, said it was a hard decision to make.

“We’re about 10 weeks out from the event, but everything is just so unknown with COVID, so we decided to make the call,” she said.

“We don’t want to have to worry about strict guidelines, if we can help it, but we do need to ensure that we’re following the rules and making sure we’re keeping everyone safe.”

Ms Jobling said the team decided to cancel the event far enough out from the date to ensure it wasn’t going to inconvenience potential Nosh attendees.

“The committee thought it would be best to pull the pin sooner rather than later, so we’re not selling tickets and preparing food just to have it cancelled on the day.

“It’s disappointing but things were just becoming too difficult, so we’ve opted to pull together and work really hard on the 2022 event instead.”

Ms Jobling said the committee, elected at the Nosh AGM in March, has done a great job behind the scenes.

“A lot of work has been done and they’re a great group, so I know we’ll be able to put on an amazing event next year,” she said.

“With the size of the 2022 festival we’ve got in mind, it’ll take us 12 months to pull it together.

“Onwards and upwards.”

The Narrabri Nosh team will start planning the 2022 event in August, which they hope will be closer to the market day that locals have come to know and expect.

“It’ll be the great food and wine festival it’s always been, as well as a few other fun activities,” Ms Jobling explained. “We’d like to make it a full, two or three-day, event.”

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