GABF Geelong turns 10 next weekend, celebrating with a plethora of food, drink and entertainment across the Friday and Saturday.
With just a week to go until the Great Australian Beer Festival returns to Geelong over two summer days, the event has just upped the ante for its 10th anniversary celebration, expanding the two-day program of food, drink and entertainment even further.
Offering a feast of the senses on Friday 20th January 4pm-10m and Saturday 21st January 12pm – 7pm, the expanded program ranges from iconic and emerging live music and live comedy to cooking demonstrations, masterclasses and beer-food pairing, live AO tennis coverage on the big screen and family-friendly activities ensuring the festival will truly offer something for everyone. And this is all included in the ticket!
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here.
Great Australian Beer Festival is bringing good vibes, music, beer and comedy this summer
Delivering an immersive ‘Taste of the Region’, the festival will also showcase a colossal line-up of over 300 world class breweries, cideries, distilleries, cocktail specialists, vineyards and local gourmet street food.
With the full GABF Weekend program announced, Festival founder and Co-Director, Kieran Blood said he was incredibly excited by what was on offer at this year’s event.
“We are expecting a sold-out crowd with a diverse mix of locals and visitors from all parts of Australia and overseas.
“At GABF, we love to push the boundaries and most of all, create lifelong memories through unique and engaging experiences.” Blood said. Our program celebrates creativity, diversity and all things that make our region great.”
The full GABF entertainment program can be located online on the GABF website and features iconic and emerging contemporary music on the Gage Roads live music stage with the likes of Gabby Steel, Maz Green Jasmin Adria, Tyne James Organ and Jolyon Petch closing off the Friday night session, while Seamus McCorry, Violas, Ash Grunwald, The Natural Culture and Telenova will be headlining the Saturday session.
Laughter starts pouring Friday night with host Stewart Bell at the Brick Lane Brewing live comedy stage at 6pm featuring Nick Cody, Tom Ballard and Alex Ward and Kirsty Webeck.
From classic toasties to internationally celebrated Moules Frites (and all things in-between), festival goers can experience live cooking demonstrations at the Culinary Stage. Each session will focus on sustainability and cooking with local ingredients to create flavoursome meals that pair with great beers. These include:
• 1:30pm- The Ultimate Toastie Masterclass Presented by Tim Bone, popular MasterChef semi-finalist and owner of Tim’s Toasties
• 2:45pm- Sustainable Cooking with Little Creatures- Putting an Australian Spin on A Class Belgium Dish with Locally Sourced Ingredients Presented by Stephen Shing, Executive Chef- Little Creatures Geelong
• 4:00pm- A Guide to making the Perfect Beer Snacks presented by Tim Bone
For those looking to start their journey with something a little more educational, masterclasses will kick off 1:30pm on Saturday at the The Barrett Burston Masterclass stage with industry icon Tif Waldron and classes including brewer forums, beer/food matching, free tastings lead by local industry leaders.
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Tennis fans can get live AO coverage on the big screen at the Better Beer Activation across the entire weekend! Wear your best tennis whites, dress up like your favourite icon or just enjoy the action with a icy cold bevvy.
And to ensure GABF caters for festival goers of all ages, a range of family friendly activities will also be on site Saturday including shuffleboard, balloon sculpting, face painting, glitter and go and giant bubbles for the young and young at heart.
For 2023 the festival has partnered with the City of Geelong to help cement itself as Geelong’s signature summer festival experience.
“We are both excited and honoured to have the opportunity to work in partnership with the City of Geelong to continue to invest in diverse programs that showcase the best of our region to the rest of the world.”
The increased program across 2 days is set to bring over 8000 people from all over Victoria and interstate into the Greater Geelong region, with many opting to stay more nights to experience the abundance of activities and entertainment on offer. This means a massive economic injection into the local hospitality and retail industry.
With only a week until festival gates officially open and festivities begin, the countdown is well and truly on for is set to be Geelong’s biggest summer celebrations!
GABF will transform the iconic and picturesque Johnstone Park into a beer oasis on Friday, January 20 from 4pm-10pm and Saturday, January 21 12pm-7pm 2023.
Find out more and book tickets at www.gabfgeelong.com.au.
