After another delay, the remaining PICA presentations - Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria – will be presented on the evening of Friday 5 November, immediately prior to the National Print Awards presentations in Brisbane, which will be live-streamed around the country.
“It’s an unique solution to an unique situation, which will see the events coordinated to run across five States and four time zones, with in-person dinner events held in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane, and patrons in Victoria and South Australia enjoying an ‘in-home experience’ with a hamper of gourmet food and red wine delivered to enjoy during the presentations,” said Robyn Frampton, spokesperson for the event organisers.
The snap decision by the Queensland government last month to declare a public holiday on Friday 29 October sent print awards organisers scrambling to once again reschedule the remaining PICA presentations – Victoria, WA and NSW – which will now be presented on 5 November, immediately before the 38th National Print Awards.
The decision was confirmed this week, with Walter Kuhn, president of the Print & Visual Communications Association (PVCA), which hosts the event, saying the increase in staging costs due to holiday loadings, together with a desire to support Queenslanders to enjoy a much-anticipated long weekend, were behind the decision.
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| The rescheduled ‘Ekka’ public holiday "did take us by surprise": PVCA president Walter Kuhn |
“I don’t think there’s anyone who would begrudge any State the opportunity to take a break and enjoy some time away given the events of the past couple of years, but after only recently confirming Brisbane as the most viable venue for the print award presentations, the announcement by Premier Palaszczuk that the ‘Ekka’ public holiday would be rescheduled to the Friday of our event did take us by surprise.
“The no-doubt unintended consequence for us, and for others who had events booked that weekend, was a doubling of our staging costs overnight, coupled with the threat of cancellations from registrants keen to embrace the chance to take a few days away,” Kuhn said.
By pushing the event out once more, Kuhn said industry businesses can enjoy both the ‘People’s Long Weekend’, as it’s known, and the National Print Awards celebrations – albeit after waiting yet another week. With varying restrictions still in place in other States, these final presentations will be a mix of in-person and livestreamed events spanning five states and four time zones.
The WA PICAs will be announced live at a function at Crown Perth, commencing at 5pm sharp. In Sydney, the NSW PICAs will be presented in-person at Ovolo, Woolloomooloo kicking off at 6pm.
The Victorian PICAs will be announced at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre at 6.15pm Queensland time, with the proceedings live-streamed into Victoria (at 7:15 Melbourne time) and SA (at 6:45 pm local time).
“In Victoria and SA, where gathering restrictions are still in force, patrons will enjoy a special ‘in-home experience’, with a gourmet hamper of food and drinks delivered direct to their door to enjoy while Zooming in for the celebrations,” Kuhn said.
For the exact times, arrangements and booking links for each State or go to www.printingawards.com.au for the latest details, or https://www.trybooking.com/eventlist/pica to book your place.
