I think the guys in Newcastle did a fantastic job getting Pinfest off the ground and then running it successfully for three years.
If I were considering a similar venture, say in Ballarat
, I would give the organisers of Pinfest several phone calls over a couple of weeks and pick their brains. There will be glaring mistakes that they have made and could be avoided and I'm sure they would be able to offer a myriad of advice.
Piggybacking onto an existing event in the city also makes a lot of sense. It would lessen the risk for you and boost the event for the existing organisers - such as a boat show, car/hotrod/motorcycle show, etc. These events already have a marketing machine in place and already have contacts at media, venues, printers etc and I am certain would only be too happy to have a pinball event tacked on to their existing show.
Happy to help and support in any way possible.