Festival season has started with a bang and Devour is well underway, putting the focus on fresh flavours of locally harvested and homemade produce.

Matthew Holt, Wagga City Council visitor economy and events co-ordinator, said the spring-focused event calendar was running off the back of a successful two years.

"There is a total of 56 businesses trying to promote local food, drink and their experiences," he said.

"The idea is to showcase the local agri-tourism and products, and it's about getting businesses to pair up and work together."

Mr Holt said it has been a tough time for everyone in the region and now, more than ever, and it was critical for people to band together.

He added that throughout October, there would be more than 120 event offerings, with something on every day.

One of the most significant Devour projects will be the pop-up restaurant at Fusion.

"This will have a long table on the Wollundry Bridge, and that will celebrate local food, pairing it with drink offerings in a nighttime setting," Mr Holt said.

The focus of Devour is not just one a food and wine perspective, but it is about the "experience" Mr Holt said.

"We are trying to get back to hands-on, get people behind the scenes with the brewery and get back to the land and knowing where your food comes from."

Pretty Parrot Distilling is one of the Riverina businesses to jump on board with the program this year.

Owners Ellen and David Webb are from Tumut, but bought a distillery in Lavington when the chance arose.

"We own the Oriental Hotel, but always wanted to get into distilling as well," Mrs Webb said.

"We are in the process of expanding into Tumut, but we have a tasting room in the hotel, and we are going through the council to move it to the property.

"We wanted to use Australian natives, so we have them in our liqueurs and gins."

Mrs Webb said while she often travels to the Canberra markets and finds people often have not heard of Tumut.

"People do not realise what we have," she said.

"They do not realise all there is to do."

Mrs Webb said the Riverina has so much to offer from orchids to distilleries, from skiing to walking tracks - not to mention the array of products to be found.

She added Devour was a way of getting their name out there.

"We need to be the Riverina for the Riverina and support each other," Mrs Webb said.

Bidgee Strawberries and Cream have teamed up with Romano's Hotel to bring together a berry festival for residents and visitors to take part in from October 24 to 27.

Romano's publican Belinda King said it is crucial to celebrate local businesses.

"We thought the festival of strawberries was a great way to bring the laneway to life with delicious drinks and desserts based on the fruits," she said.

"Everyone is doing it tough at the moment, but in Wagga we have all these new businesses starting up, and we need to encourage them.

"We need to start shopping locally."

Ms King said they would be encouraging people to head out and pick strawberries at the farm, before heading over to the hotel in the afternoon.

Michael Cashen, co-owner of Bidgee Strawberries and Cream, said it's turning out to be a great season.

"We have doubled our area, so last year we had 10,000 strawberries, and this year we have 20,000," he said.

"We can grow those organically."

Mr Cashen said Devour was the perfect example of businesses in the region adapting to the needs and wants of consumers.

"People are always looking for something new or different, and they are always looking for an adventure," he said.

"Our business has tapped into that.

"There is a bit of a gap in Wagga around agri-tourism so we have tried to fill that void and we are trying to grow and adapt."

Bidgee Strawberries and Cream are also teaming up with Magpie's Nest for a dinner event.

Mr Cashen encouraged residents and visitors to get involved with the program.

For more information and a list of all the events and experiences in Wagga and surrounds, go to www.visitwagga.com/devour.