Preparations have begun on a returned Mount Gambier New Year’s Eve festival, with volunteers confident they can deliver a fun, family-friendly and – importantly – COVID-Safe event. After being cancelled in 2020, the Mount Gambier New Year’s Eve festival is back in 2021.

Steve Toope, who returns as chairperson for the year as Rupert Bacher steps down for personal reasons, told The SE Voice the event would welcome similar attractions to past years. Mr Toope, who originally started the event more than 10 years ago, expects over 5000 people will attend the Vansittart Park event delivered entirely by volunteers.

“There will be live music and we have always had a wrestling troupe come down from Adelaide – we’re aiming to do that again this year,” he said. “It’s highly entertaining.” In addition, rounds of fireworks, a kids’ entertaining area with jumping castles, slides, a merry-go-round, face painters, along with mini golf, laser tag and catering vans will be fixtures at the New Year’s Eve festival in 2021.

Mr Toope said the New Year’s Eve festival, which started with the brief of being a safe, secure and affordable event for the whole family, will aim for family ticket prices at $35, with entertainment free of charge once inside the grounds. All funds raised for the event will go entirely toward financing future iterations of the New Year’s Eve festival, with the event run entirely by a team of volunteers, including Mr Toope.

Mr Toope said the team was working through the process of delivering the festival COVID-Safe.