Postpone Febfast and call your out-of-town mates, A Day on the Green is coming to Orange.
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On February 1, the outdoor music festival will make its way from the Yarra Valley to here.
While the concert line-up is still under wraps, Heifer Station has confirmed it has won the right to host.
More than 8000 people are expected to lay down their picnic rug at The Escort Way winery, with the paddock between its cellar door and younger vineyard becoming the concert ground for the day.
Restaurants will be full, accommodation will be booked out and the town will jump all weekend
- Micheal Newton
The cellar door will be used as a private space for the stars, with stalls set up outside serving food, beer and wine to the crowds.
Heifer Station will set up an exclusive members' area within the concert venue, which will include a walkway to front-of-stage seats, private toilets and VIP food and drink services.
Operations manager James Thomas said the winery's annual The Bull Paddock Long Lunch, which has the capacity for 350 people, is the next biggest event Heifer Station has hosted.
"As far as I'm aware this is the first major music festival that's ever come to Orange," he said.
A Day on the Green organisers did a reconnaissance trip to the region about eight months ago, to scout for a location to replace its Mudgee event.
Roundhouse Entertainment, who promote the event, looked for a winery which could accommodate more than Mudgee's biggest winery, which maxed out at 6000 people.
Promoter Michael Newton said A Day on the Green was an expensive show to put on, which required wineries matching the size of the Hunter Vallery and Yarra Valley to make them profitable.
"We loved playing in Mudgee," he said. "But we felt like we'd outgrown it."
The "broad appeal" festivals have previously been headlined by Rod Stewart, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Lionel Richie and Kylie Minogue.
Next year's line up includes Elton John, Rob Thomas and Pete Murray.
Mr Newton said the shows have been tending towards younger performers in recent years, although the big namers are often "not as youthful".
He said Orange will have a name for its headliner in October, when the act makes his/her/their national tour dates public.
"We were trying to get Kylie this year," he said. "Hopefully next time."
As part of the A Day on the Green package, revellers will be offered cheap bus fairs to take them the 11-kilometres into town, or deliver visitors to Bathurst, Millthorpe and some surrounding villages.
Mr Newton said the economic benefit for the region could not be understated.
"Everywhere we go the impact is absolutely massive," he said.
"Restaurants will be full, accommodation will be booked out and the town will jump all weekend."
With 2020 locked down with Heifer Station and Orange City Council currently preparing a report to outline its contribution, Roadhouse Entertainment will work towards making the festival an annual Orange event.
Mr Thomas said it's a great fit for the city and a match for the Heifer brand.
"We've got the facility. We've got the social media presence and we've got the right reach," he said.
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