This year's Off-Grid Living Festival was the last to be held in Chiltern, or anywhere else in North East Victoria.
The festival's organising team said after "an incredible run" of Off-Grid Living Festivals in Victoria since 2018, the team is taking a well-earned break in 2026, before the festival is relaunched in a new location in New South Wales in 2027.
Festival director Kate Nottingham said the team had always wanted the festival to move around Australia and after eight years, they felt the time was right.
She said they were in discussions with a potential property near Sydney, who they could team up with to share the workload, with details still to be finalised and announced in coming months.
"It's such a big job to run it every year," she said.
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"It's hugely beneficial to be able to work as a team, compared to doing it all on our own around here.
"It also means we'll be able to reach a new audience as well, which is why we put the word out about running festivals around Australia, so we could team up with others."
This year's Off-Grid Living Festival held at the Chiltern Recreation Reserve in April and attracted more than 300 exhibitors, with about 5000 people attending over two days.
Ms Nottingham said while the idea is to see how the festival is received in its new location in 2027, the future there looked promising.
She said while attendance at the 2025 festival was still in the thousands, it was quite low compared to previous years, which may have been a result of the rising cost of living.
There was also unseasonably hot weather in April, with the heat making it uncomfortable for patrons - and especially families with children - in the afternoon.
Ms Nottingham said those who did attend were loyal patrons who took part in multiple workshops and activities over the course of the weekend, many meeting and camping in Chiltern.
She said while existing exhibitors will be among the first to be invited to the next instalment of Off-Grid, she also expects a lot of new exhibitors to join the festival, with the date of the event in 2027 still to be determined.
Organisers also have plans to revamp the festival's website to allow better engagement between members of the public and exhibitors.
"When we moved to Chiltern, I already missed our hometown of Eldorado, but it's time for the festival to grow," Ms Nottingham said.
"Even though I started it, it's got a life of its own now, and it's hard to keep up.
"The community support we've had in both Eldorado and Chiltern has been wonderful, but we've done it in the same area now for eight years, so it's time."
