You may wish to cover the whole 2014 Splendour in the Grass story, and not just one side that relates to the patrons on site having a good time, or the promoters who have improved conditions on site since their disastrous 2013 festival.
Have you considered doing a more balanced story, including a story on the immediate neighbours and wider community in general who are being held to ransom whilst 27,500 patrons from all over Australia party at our expense?
What about a story on the people who live here for the peace and the quiet, the laid back rural lifestyle and for the appreciation of the birds and other unique fauna species that inhabit the area.
For many of us here, the permanent residents of our beautiful shire, it is a week from hell. God only knows what damage it does to the native wildlife in the surrounding Billinudgel Nature Reserve.
Val Scanlon, Yelgun
Hi Val, it is only one weekend a year, or ‘one week’ as you put it. I’m pretty sure running freeways and housing developments through certain areas has more environmental impact than SiTG does. Maybe it’s time you moved? There are other areas where you can go for 52 weeks of quiet instead of 51 weeks of quiet. The amount of money it brings in for many businesses and how much fun people have means it is probably not going anywhere.
Sorry you dont like it.
Take care.
Jessie,
It’s not just Val who was affected. Do you suggest we all move on from the lives we have made for the sake of punters and profits, just because you and a whole other bunch of ignorant mess makers who don’t give a shit, think they are entitled to a bit of fun?
How is it fair that people who bought their properties for the peace and quiet at Yelgun and surrounds, well before Byron Parklands was envisaged, have this forced upon them? The community and environment should come first, they were here first!
My experience as a worker in a Brunswick Heads business was the same as this, taken from the Northern Star article from last week:
‘Ms Hibbarb said it was supermarkets, accommodation and cafe businesses that had benefited most from Splendour now being held in the shire’s north.
“Accommodation was fully booked out in Brunswick Heads, as were all of the airport shuttle buses,” she said.
“It is not quite as big as Easter for us, but it has been a fantastic boom for the town.”
Cafes were busiest in the mornings, she said, serving patrons breakfast before they headed off to the festival, and yesterday punters filled the town after having packed up from the festival site.
While his cafe was full yesterday, The Happy Dolphin Cafe manager, Gary Deller said he had expected it to be busier over the weekend.
“The vibe over the weekend was awesome and we were up on normal trade, but nothing like what I expected,” he said.’
My boss had put on extra staff in the expectation we would at least have the same trade (hopefully more due to the increase in festival patrons) as last year. He ended up losing any profits in wages.
Have a festival, but do it somewhere else thanks. After the two Splendours and Falls, over it.