Emma Pritchard
The Grafton Vintage Motor Vehicle Club’s highly anticipated Motorfest 21 has been steered to a new date.
Following the confirmation of several Covid-19 cases within the Clarence Valley in recent weeks, the decision was made to postpone the event once more in the interests of public health and safety.
Originally scheduled to be held on August 22, Motorfest 21 was initially postponed until November 7, due to concerns surrounding the Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney and travel restrictions.
The popular annual attraction had drawn plenty of interest from the owners of several classic and vintage vehicles throughout the state.
Describing the second postponement of the event in the past two months as “very disappointing”, Club President Doug Clark said the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the number of community transmissions in the local area made it too risky to proceed with Motorfest 21 this year.
“So much work goes into organising the event and we were all keen to go ahead with it, but given the circumstances, it would have been too big a risk,” he said.
“The whole workings of the Covid-19 situation have made it very difficult for us to run the event as planned.
“Everyone at the club is disappointed, but we’ve got to follow the rules and regulations to help people stay safe.”
Mr Clark revealed the club made the decision to postpone Motorfest 21 for five months at a committee meeting last week, adding it was not feasible or suitable to hold the event at a later date this year.
“December will be too hot for the club to host the event,” he said.
“We’re just going to watch the Covid-19 numbers over the next few weeks and focus on hosting the event next year when we’ll be able to welcome more people.”
Club member, John Porter, also expressed his disappointment at the second postponement of the event in 2021.
“A lot of people were looking forward to it, and the postponement has put a damper on the whole thing, but the club couldn’t do anything else,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate, but we want to do the right thing to keep everyone safe.”
Mr Clark said the Grafton Vintage Motor Vehicle Club is planning on making the event bigger and better in 2022, and an additional attraction for the public will be a Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) crash test vehicle.
“It’s going to be a fairly major display,” he said.
The club also wished to acknowledge the events sponsors, including Benny’s Smash Repairs, for their understanding and cooperation following the second postponement.
The event will be held as Motorfest 22 at Jabour Park, South Grafton, on March 27.
Entry will be via a gold coin donation.