A success that the Cressier New Wine Festival owes in large part to its volunteers. The demonstration brought together nearly 36,000 people between Friday evening and this Sunday, according to Bastien Monnet, president of the demonstration. And to welcome all these visitors and allow them to eat and celebrate, the Cressier companies have mobilized again. Among them, the Fanfare of Hope, which has one of the largest tents at the Fête du Vin Nouveau. But for the marching band, the event represents a large investment, both financial and in terms of personnel, and the profit is not as high as for other stands, explains Véronique Meuwly. “We can’t say that it’s the best party for us, because there are a lot of costs at the start,” explains the president of the Fanfare de l’Espérance de Cressier. To operate her stand, Véronique Meuwly can count on around 150 volunteers, members of the marching band, but also “groupies”, as she calls them.
As for the Entre-deux-Lacs Volleyball club, revenue from the Cressier new wine festival represents two thirds of the annual budget. If the organizational work is not too complicated since the special commission for the event can count on the experience of some of its members, the difficulty lies elsewhere: in the search for volunteers. The Cressier and Landeron sports club, which has joined forces with the Entre-deux-Lacs beach volleyball club, has 120 four-hour periods of work for this weekend of festivities, including assembly and dismantling. The Volleyball club only has 70 members, and even then, despite the president’s wish that they all do at least one time slot, this is not always the case. “This year we feel that we are still a little bit limited,” regrets Yves Oppliger.
The Entre-deux-Lacs Volleyball Club had to give its members a form of ultimatum: if there is no greater mobilization for the Cressier New Wine Festival, the company will stop holding its stand… a decision that could have a significant impact on finances. But this would not necessarily mean the death of the club, reassures Yves Oppliger. In addition, the committee presented its members with two budgets: one with the revenue from the event and the other without it. And so people announced themselves to take up the torch from part of the committee which wanted to stop.
A clearly majority Source of income
For the Amicale de la Raisse, another large stand at the Cressier New Wine Festival, the event is the main Source of income. Its president Monique Schmid recognizes that offering a stand and a float represents a large financial investment, but above all time. But she believes that the team “is well established” and that the game is worth the effort. For her part, she doesn’t have too much difficulty filling the stand’s time slots with dedicated volunteers.
The Cressier Youth budget also depends mainly on revenues from the Fête du Vin Nouveau. Thanks to the event, the association can afford a few outings. But unlike the Amicale de la Raisse, the Jeunesse struggles to motivate its members to come and work behind the bar. “It’s always a fight, you have to fight a little,” explains Loïc Veuve, assessor on the Youth Committee.
Very positive assessment from the organizers
Beyond the exceptional attendance (nearly 36,000 people over the three days), the results of the Fête du Vin Nouveau are very positive for its president. “It went beautifully, we are very satisfied with the weather. We sort of slipped through the cracks,” rejoices Bastien Monnet. He notes that “this is one of the first years where we have almost no rain, at least not during key moments like the procession, the egg race or the Emile&Image concert”. Moreover, for this performance, Bastien Monnet confides that he had rarely seen so many people in the streets. Finally, from a security point of view, nothing to report, the Cressier Wine Festival took place in a good atmosphere and without incident.
Find our photo gallery of the Cressier New Wine Festival procession. /lgn
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