Food Stall Applications

Hello and welcome to the much-loved and long-lived RSF Market Place - where the cultures, the characters and the creations all come together to form a vibrant melting pot of artistic and ethical commerce!  

In the beautiful Pyrenees region near Beaufort Victoria (approx. 2 hours drive from Melbourne), North of the Western Highway is the home of RSF, with a picturesque hilly landscape and stunning mountainous backdrop.   Each of the five music stages will be strategically placed around the multi-levelled site and the markets will adjoin these major attractions to create a labyrinth of sensory indulgence.

The dates for the 2012 event are Friday 27st- Monday 30th January. The entertainment will commence at around 3pm on the Friday and (officially) close at about 8pm on the Monday however you may continue to trade on the Monday night.  This gives you scope to trade for over 100 hours over the festival.

Food Vendor Rates

Food vendor rates are now easy-to manage and no-surprises FLAT FEES.  The actual rate (as well as included tickets and deposits payable) will depend on the size and menu, etc, so once your application has been approved you will provided with the price (they range from between $3000-$5,500). 

Bottled/Canned Drink Sales

You may purchase the right to sell bottled or canned drinks. The costs are as follows:

Note:  *These fees are additional and separate from the food vendor fee, and are payable on the Monday of the event.
* It is not compulsory to sell bottled/canned drinks, however you must notify us of your intentions before the event.

Facilities

As well providing the clientele… Power, water, toilets, compost, recycling and general waste disposal are all provided by the event and inclusive in the rates quoted above.  You will need to provide all your infrastructure and equipment including lighting, power cables, tables etc.   If you wish to share usage and cost of major equipment hire eg. Cool rooms, etc. with neighboring vendors, contact our coordinator for advice and assistance with this.

Environment Policy

Rainbow Serpent takes much pride in its sustainability policy and is committed to continual improvement of the festival’s environmental impact. Once again we will be using bio-fuelled generators, a comprehensive recycling system, and composting toilets. Food and beverage stalls play an important part in ensuring the success of the recycling system and once again we will be requiring the use of biodegradable cutlery & crockery by all food & beverage vendors. This means a condition of the application is that you agree to not use any plastic or Styrofoam serving ware and that all packaging and cutlery is compostable. To make this a little easier and cheaper for you, we have arranged with Going Green Solutions to offer bulk rates on their products. You can order them directly yourself and by mentioning Rainbow Serpent Festival you will receive bulk rates.  Click here for the discounted price list.

Note: Of course you are permitted to source your own biodegradable ware if you choose, Envirosafepak is another company that offers the products - or you can use organic items such as banana leaves for serving food. If you are unsure whether your serving ware is compostable, please get in touch with the festival environment officer – Andrew Schudmak

We are keen to make your back-of-house waste management as practical as possible. In past years the recycling recovery rate from the food and beverage stalls has been low due to contamination levels in the waste streams. There will be three bins (one for food/compostables, one for recycling [plastic and glass] and one for general waste) and a bale (for cardboard – please flatten all boxes).  Please ensure that you and your staff sort your waste and place it in the appropriate receptacle. We will be creating onsite worm farms to process all the food scraps and packaging and ask that you take particular care with using a contamination-free organic stream (including no meat or oils).

Arrival and Departure Times

Food and beverage vendor positions will be decided and marked prior to your arrival.   Again, please respect our decision on your positioning, we take much time and care in making this a fair and logical layout and have many issues to consider for the sake of a safe, efficient and aesthetically pleasing festival.

You may arrive as early as Wednesday 25th in the evening to commence setting up.  You may arrive anytime up until Thursday 26th in the afternoon however all food and beverage vendors need to be ready to trade by Friday lunchtime.   Power will be available as of Wednesday lunch time.

Note:  Food vendors are permitted to trade and stay camped overnight on the Monday (after official close) however you must vacate by Tuesday evening. This is a condition of our permit, please respect it.

Health & Safety Permits

Health Permits must be applied for by every vendor applicant through the Pyrenees Shire Council.  Details and application instructions will be provided after your initial application is approved. To acquire this permit you must:

• Hold a current $10,000,000 public liability insurance policy
• Hold a current food handler's certificate
• Hold a current registration of a food premises
• Abide by health and safety practices

… among other conditions. Click here to view the Food Safety Program document that you will need to follow.

Note: Serving food without following the correct application procedures is against the law. Any vendor that arrives without prior permission will be refused and ejected from the property if necessary.

IMPORTANT NEW CONDITIONS:

Fire Safety Conditions have become very strict for obvious regions.  The below conditions will be monitored and enforced by Fire Safety authorities on site and are relevant to all vendors using equipment that involve naked flames. 

• The appliance used for meal preparation is designed exclusively for that purpose and is fired by gas or electricity;
• The ground and airspace within a distance of 3 metres of the outer perimeters of such appliance is clear of combustible material;
• There is available at hand for immediate use AND adequate signage directing towards:
  i) A length of hose adequate to reach the appliance connected to a reticulated water supply; or
  ii) A water type fire extinguisher of not less than 9 litres capacity;
  iii) A fire blanket
• The appliance is attended by the permit holder or an employee or agent of the permit holder;
• Provision is made to enable immediate notification of an outbreak of fire to the local Fire Brigade, a member of the Police Force or a Forest Officer;

Information or to obtain a copy of the permit, contact the Region 16 CFA office on:
Ph: (03) 5352 5516
Fax: (03) 5352 5517

The LPG Gas Code of Practice

The LGP Gas Code of Practice has recently been introduced and will be enforced by fire authorities on site.  The document may be downloaded here to check your requirements.
In addition to the responsibilities of the individual vendor, the event itself will have much responsibility with coordinating stalls with certain numbers of cylinders as there are restrictions on how many can be on site within a vicinity of each other.  You will be required to state the number of LPG cylinders that will be with you on-site (at any one time, used or unused) at the time of application.

Power Usage

Power Usage has been somewhat abused in the last few years which has caused overloads to the generators resulting in unfortunate loss of business in the market village.  Not only are you required now to test and tag all your appliances and cables, but we ask for your specific power requirements (in Amps) at the time of application.  This will be a contributing factor to your application approval, and power usage will be monitored by our electrical staff on site.

Deadlines

The below deadlines are non-negotiable and should only be used as a guide.  It is strongly advised to apply and pay the deposit as soon as possible after applications open and/or are approved.

• Food Vendor Applications – September 16th
• Food/Health Permit Applications – October 1st
• Deposits (non-refundable) – October 1st
• Balance Settlement – January 30th

Note: Your application is not confirmed until the deposit has been received.  There is a very high demand for vendor opportunities at RSF - It is advised to get in early to secure your position as we will reach capacity.

Rainbow Serpent Festival 2012 Market Applications are now CLOSED. We have reached our capacity and cannot allow any new applications.

We thank you for your inquiry and hope to receive your timely application for the 2013 event. Note it is best to apply in October or November to ensure a spot.