Festival chairman John Edminstin confirmed yesterday it has commissioned a report - a decision taken at a meeting on Wednesday evening.
Tickets for the 2020 festival were supposed to go on sale last month.
But plans for next year's event have been shelved while the trust reviews what it will do with a historic hotel on the event site.
The trust's request to demolish the category 2 heritage building was refused by Invercargill City Council last month.
That meant the festival committee was unsure of its future, now knocking the hotel down to make room for expanding the festival was no longer an option.
"We are looking for some guidance in safety and feasibility. Depending on the report, we will decide if we appeal the decision from the council, leave it as it is and reduce the numbers of tickets, or if we will take the risks. "
He said the report would take four to six weeks.
"Only after this we will decide if we will be able to have a festival next year."
Trust member Kylie Fowler said usually, at this time of year, they had sold most tickets.
"We haven't set a date yet or had any decision. We will need to wait."
