What a wild year it has been for the team here at Lardner Park! Seems impossible to be able to fit all of this year’s events into one blog post, but we’ll give it a go anyways!
Over the last 12 months we have seen over 100 events held at Lardner Park. Of these events, 60 were private and public events as well as 50 calf markets and 20 dairy sales. Because of the enormous number of events, we saw over 100,000 patrons walk through the gates and this is expected to double by the end of 2023 with larger events already booked.
The number one event of 2022 was Farm World 40,000 and the Garden and Home Expo where over 8,000 patrons were welcomed to Lardner Park. 2022 was also the year that the reigns were passed over to us from the Drouin Lion’s Club to run the Garden and Home Expo. It was such a success that it’s coming back in 2023!
Looking forward to 2023, where we’ll see the return of the Vic4WD show and a new format for MotorFest in the 1st quarter as well as new events like the Gippsland Country Music Festival in April and the Wild Deer and Hunting Expo in May. We will also be introducing a brand-new Fishing competition, Outdoor expo and Tractor Pull to the list of events in the later part of the year. Stay tuned for more info on the calendar for 2023!
The variety of event types that have been held this year prove the versatility of Lardner Park and our ability to provide the ideal grounds for all types of events. Furthering our commitment to provide the perfect venue for all event types, there is a large development in the works. This project involves building a 50KW Floating Solar array on our 12-acre lake which is scheduled for completion by March 2023. This project will also showcase renewable opportunities for our region’s farmers and our community.
Overall, 2022 has been a successful year and a year of recovery. It has been fantastic to get back to hosting events for our community this year, but a very busy one! In 2023 we expect it to be a year of growth and development for us as well as our community.
A big thank you to all the vendors, exhibitors and patrons that worked with us to make 2022 such a successful year. Wishing everybody a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing everybody in 2023.
