Organisers of the Tasmanian Craft Fair are pleading with T-T line to change the week it plans to switch out the current Spirit of Tasmania vessels for the new ones, as the planned interruption to the sailing schedule throws the major event in doubt.
Bookings are currently unavailable for the week between the 23 and 30th of October while the changeover occurs, with the annual craft showcase scheduled to begin on the 30th.
Melbourne paper artist Debra Jordan said many artists would struggle to transport their wares.
“We’ve only ever gone over by boat … we couldn’t have posted or freighted all that stuff because the cost would have been prohibitive,” she told the newsroom.
“I don’t think you’ll get a lot of mainlanders , unless they’re only doing jewellery and they can post it down.”
Craft fair president Stephanie Johnston said since applications for the craft fair opened on the 25th, she’d already had dozens of interstate stallholders inform her that they wouldn’t be able to attend without the ferry.
She said last year there were 44 stallholders from the mainland, and without them, the event might not be able to go ahead.
“It may not happen. If we can’t get enough exhibitors, it’s not actually worth us holding the event,” she explained.
“We would like to have 200 exhibitors…44 exhibitors is a huge amount to lose.
“It has to be financially viable for us to actually run this event.”
She said she hoped the T-T Line would reconsider its changeover dates.
“We have had so many [stallholders] come back to us saying ‘well what can we do?'” she said
“I’m afraid I don’t know how we do it, apart from they change the boat for the last week or the next week.”
T-T Line has so far declined the newsroom’s request for an interview, but Ms Johnston said she had spoken to someone from the ferry operator.
“I did speak to the Spirits (operator) yesterday and they were definite that it would not be sailing at this stage,” Ms Johnston said.
She believes the event has brought a great economic benefit to the Deloraine and wider Northern Tasmanian communities.
“It’s not just exhibitors, we get a lot of tourists from the mainland who come specifically for the craft fair and bring their car.”
“The Rotary Club of Deloraine, that is how we fund all our community, vocational, international funding – we give a lot each year to all the different events. It’ll just be less money in the community that we can give.”
In the last 46 years, there have only been two times the fair did not run a full program: it was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic and in 2021 the committee ran a smaller, all-local event.
