Noosa Food and Wine

The Noosa Food & Wine Festival is one of Australia's most celebrated annual culinary events, drawing thousands of visitors to the Sunshine Coast each June for four days of dining, masterclasses, and producer showcases. At the heart of the 2026 festival sat the Festival Village — a 4,000 square metre outdoor site hosting 30 to 50 food and beverage stallholders and 4,500 patrons across the main event day.

Orbit Entertainment was engaged as Festival Village Site Manager, responsible for the full site lifecycle from planning through to bump-out. In the months leading up to the event, we produced the site map, master schedule, electrics plan, day sheets, and a custom digital applet built specifically for key stakeholders to reference during bump-in and bump-out. Every supplier knew where to be, when to arrive, and what to expect before they set foot on site.

Bump-in spanned 8 days and involved coordinating 28 suppliers across a site that presented genuine logistical difficulty. The Noosa Heads location is spatially constrained, and weeks of heavy rainfall in the lead-up had softened the ground considerably. Bump-in week brought further rain, and the movement of large vehicles across the site created significant ground damage. We implemented damage control measures throughout the build to maintain safe, workable conditions for all contractors on site.

A separate challenge emerged mid bump-in when an on-site water feed was compromised, cutting live water supply to the village. Rather than excavating the site mid-build and risking a larger problem we could not resolve in time, we designed and implemented an alternative supply solution using fresh water IBC tanks and pump stations. Water supply to the village was maintained without disruption to the build schedule or event day operations.

On event day, Orbit managed the full operational running of the Festival Village. This included security oversight, stallholder consumables management, waste removal services, portable amenity servicing, main stage changeover support, and general site communications. We were the primary point of contact for all village stakeholders throughout the day.

Bump-out was completed efficiently and on schedule. We managed all supplier departures, held fencing in place until the final stage of the exit sequence to maintain site security, and returned the park to council in good order.

The event was delivered on time and within budget. Every planning deliverable was produced and executed to specification. The client was satisfied, the suppliers were well managed, and the Festival Village ran without incident on event day. That is the standard we hold ourselves to on every project.