ABSTRACT
Food festivals have become popular in recent years, capitalising on the burgeoning interest in all things ‘foodie’. They are often used as a means of differentiating smaller rural areas to drive tourism and regional development in an increasingly crowded marketplace. However, for many food producers participating in food festivals there is a more fundamental motivation at work that is generally overlooked in the literature: generating business. This is particularly the case for smaller, boutique or artisanal local food producers who may be wanting to engage and educate food consumers with an interest or passion for the local food movement. This chapter will examine the value of a food festival from the perspective of food producers, through a case study of the Real Food Festival on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. A series of in-depth interviews with food producers sheds light on how they chose to make use of the Real Food Festival as a medium for achieving their business aspirations.
