MOUNT Gambier City Council will seek $20,000 in State Government funding for next year’s Fringe in Mount Gambier Festival.
This year’s festival attracted around 12,500 people during a feature weekend in March, up on 8000 people who attended the inaugural festival in 2017.
Council previously endorsed an allocation of $20,000 cash and $5000 in kind support in its 2018/19 budget to support the continued growth of the festival.
While Country Arts SA contributed $10,000 towards last year’s Fringe in Mount Gambier, the organisation has been unable to confirm a cash funding contribution for 2019 due to State Government budget delays.
This has put significant pressure on the committee’s capacity to secure headline acts and performances.
The 2018 Fringe in Mount Gambier Festival was a community-led collaboration between artists, local businesses and venue operators.
Participation and evaluation showed the grassroots approach was an outstanding success.
Given the conservative budget, financial barriers in the early planning stage when it is critical to attract funding partners and naming sponsors has been problematic for the 2019 committee.
Council will write to the State Government seeking $20,000 to continue the momentum established during last year’s event.
The 2019 festival is proposed to be held on the weekend of March 22 in the Cave Gardens precinct.
