I couldn't help but comment after Joceb wrote of the Cooly rocks on Festival that is planned, as I too struck many with something to say on the Wintersun changes.

Port Macquarie is a Rolls Royce choice as a host to the Wintersun Festival. It is a very attractive town with ocean aspects. It is a lot closer to drive up with the car from Sydney so no complaints here on that point. From discussions with associates I anticipate next year there will be cars attending that have not before made the Wintersun pilgrimage, while others will drop out if their drive has increased.

Last week at Coolangatta I heard polorized opininions about the move to Port Macquarie. Rumours were rife with vast contradictions. Someone said until the economic down turn, the airport used to sponsor the event with a $25,000 contribution. Another person said it was $100,000.
There were so many versions of the same information, in the end I thought I would listen to nothing but what I knew was definitely accurate and my own common sense.

The cost of hosting the festival would be 7 figures when you note the baracades, stages and entertainment . A good investment if you believe the Gold Coast Newspaper which said the Festival brings $25,000,000.00 to the local economy.

Some I talked to said they liked the Coolangatta location but were prepared to test the waters at Port Macquarie because the apartments had got so expensive at Coolangatta and because they were fed up with the rudeness often demonstrated by staff in shops at Coolangatta. I've experienced some attitude myself.

I saw in the local rag that the Cooly rocks on festival will be a scaled down festival and it is likely it will be spread from Currumbin down to Kingscliffe with plans to include Water shows and other tourist attractions. If the attractions, car shows and entertainment are spread around it will generate more business for vehicle hire firms as Currumbin and Kingscliff are 25kms apart with Tweed Heads in the middle.

The Port Macquarie Wintersun I am led to believe is sticking to the roots of what the festival is with the focus being the rock and roll and rockabilly style entertainment, cars from the era and the iconic retro 50's influences, gathered as closely as possible to intensify the party atmosphere of the festival.

Having been to Port Macquarie, I've seen first hand that the town has plenty of accommodation due to servicing summer crowds up from Sydney. It has some excellent clubs. The airport is 2kms from the centre of the town.

I have pointed out these two facts only because I had people telling me last week the opposite.

Next year will be the big decider as to who the ultimate winners are. As punters we cant lose.