“I don’t want to give away our trade secrets but we’ll take a couple of chairs,” she laughed. Heading along with friends, a couple low chairs, a small picnic table and a table cloth make up the not-so-secret set-up. “I know a few people who do that kind of thing.”

“In actual fact, last year when we went there was a group sitting next to us – they were on the ground – and they were quizzing us. They were basically saying, ‘oh you guys know what you’re doing, you’re organised, that looks great’.”

To be fair, she does have some experience. 

Clark’s involvement with Festivale began at the turn of the millennium. Over almost two decades, she saw the event grow into one which now draws about 25,000 guests from Launceston, Tasmania, Australia and the world – one of the highlights of the state’s cultural calendar.

A celebration of all things Tasmanian food, wine, beer, cider and spirits, this year the event will feature music from the Hoodoo Gurus, Ross Wilson, Jeff Lang, Jon Stevens, Kate Cebrano and Brian Cadd. A line up current Festivale chairman David Dunn said people had been telling him was the “best in years”.

In 2000, Clark stepped into a job – one in which her predecessor had held a role with the event. “When he moved back to Sydney – and I got the job – I took his seat on the committee,” she told The Examiner.

After seven years Clark was called up into the chairperson role, one she would hold until 2017. “So I’d been the chairman for 10 years, and I’d been on the Festivale committee for 17 years,” she said. “I guess I saw the event grow during that time – significantly.”

What stands out is not only the number of keen attendees, Clarke says, but the numerous additions to the three-day program. “There are now a whole series of much smaller events that Festivale encompasses, like the Festivale lunch, the wine awards, the cider awards, the cooking, a kids area.” 

“I guess small incremental changes, but changes that have really added significantly to the event.”

Other changes include the introduction of corporate seating tickets for the first time this year, offering reserved tables on Friday evening. That day featured an earlier start time than previous years, at 4pm – giving attendees an extra hour-and-a-bit to soak in the February sun.

The event’s move to the first weekend in February has also been given the thumbs-up, with Dunn touting the popular family-oriented Festivale Sunday a “last hurrah” for families before the 2019 school year begins.

“I guess perhaps one of the other things is ... it really has become quite a social event for the city,” Clark said. “It’s a place where people go to catch up with people. Which I think is really nice.” 

“You go to Festivale and you see people that you haven’t seen for ages. But when you go you know that you are going to run into heaps of people.

“It does draw everyone in. And from a community perspective I think that is really important.”

RELATED: Festivale stallholders share their menus for the weekend

From its deep roots throughout Launceston and the state’s North, the event is now looked to by those across Tasmania, Australia and the world. The event’s 2018 exit report showed 84.3 per cent of patrons were Tasmanian, with 14 per cent making the trip from the mainland. International visitors made up 1.6 per cent.

“Anecdotally we know that people attend the event and then book their accommodation for the next year,” Clark continued. “The committee under David [Dunn] is really taking it to that next level in terms of attracting more intrastate and interstate tourists to the event.” 

“Which is fantastic for Tasmania because we are the flavour of the month - flavour of the year, perhaps.”

For Clark, that flavour is certainly influenced by events like Festivale – which showcase not only the big names, but up-and-coming producers and businesses too. “It’s like a one-stop shop really,” she added.

“I’ve just been in Hobart with my husband last week attending a conference where most of the attendees – I want to say about 99 per cent of the attendees – were from interstate and from New Zealand. And they couldn’t stop raving about the food and wine – and about Tasmania. 

“I think the quality of our food and wine, and now gin and cider – and of course beer – really adds to the experience that people have here. And to the experience for locals as well.”

Another thing that has been pivotal to the success of the event: the volunteers. The event does have a small number of paid staff doing the day-to-day work, but it is largely the committee who drive decisions throughout the year-long effort that goes into making it happen.

“These guys give up their time for meetings,” Clark said. “They give up pretty much a week of their life to put the event on. Which is nice for me now, because I can go along to the event and enjoy it and see it from the other side.”

“Last year we went on the Saturday night and it was different,” she laughed. “But I had a fantastic night. It was wonderful to be able to actually enjoy it and come home knowing I didn't have to get up at some crazy hour of the morning to go back there and start the day again.”

This year, again, Clark will be back with the thousands expected to pack the iconic Launceston park. “Like everyone else – absolutely. I’ll be there.”

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