A SURGE of interest could see Kyneton lose its popular Lost Trades Fair, but organisers say nothing has been confirmed.
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Organiser Lisa Rundell said the Lost Trades events team was looking at options for the event after its popularity forced them to reconsider its site.
Ms Rundell said no decision had been made about the location or dates of the change. She said the fair could move location, or the format could change to accommodate growing interest.
The events team had been in discussions with Ballarat, but nothing was confirmed, she said.
Ms Rundell said the fair had outgrown the Kyneton Racecourse, which meant they would have to cap numbers, or run the fair for longer.
Last year the Lost Trades Fair attracted 22,000 people. In 2019 organisers were forced to cap numbers at 18,000.
Ms Rundell said she was turning people away from the fair for most of Saturday afternoon this year, which was "not great" for regional tourism.
"Our mission and purpose was to have a platform on which traditional career artisans could showcase their skills," she said.
"We wanted to give these people these artisans an audience of as many people as we could possibly get.
"The space in Kyneton because we had to cap numbers really didn't achieve this."
Ms Rundell said the fair committee had been actively looking for a new location for two years, within the Macedon Ranges region.
She said the event would need to move, or be run over a longer period of time.
Read more: Lost trades take the focus in Kyneton
"We know that we need a bigger space, so I've obviously compared to what we have in Victoria with the facilities we have in other locations," Ms Rundell said.
"Kyneton Racecourse ... is the most beautiful location anywhere... but the space that we have is not big enough to cater for the crowds."
Ms Rundell said the fair had been held in Kyneton partly because she and her husband live the town and run their business there.
She said the area had a high number of artists making money on traditional trades.
Visit Victoria head of corporate affairs Matt Cugley said the Lost Trades Fair would remain in regional Victoria.
Mr Cugley said hosting negotiations were commercial-in-confidence and not yet finalised.
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