People are being invited to have their say on festivals and events in Hobsons Bay in what is the first year since 1977 that Altona won’t have an annual festival.
The Altona Beach Festival, formerly Operation Recreation and Bayside Festival, has been a subject of controversy after past organisers ran into financial strife and Hobsons Bay council took over the event. The name and format were changed, and the festival was moved from Cherry Lake to the foreshore.
Following the assembly of a record 15,000-strong crowd at the Australia Day in Altona event, Sharon Walsh, of the Altona Village Traders Association, said traders did not want another Altona Beach Festival.
“We can’t run up back-to-back festivals, physically or financially,” she said.
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“If the Altona Beach Festival was to resume, that would be to the detriment of Australia Day because the contribution from the traders to the beach festival, dollar wise, was really quite a considerable amount of money.”
The association says it spent about $35,000 on the Australia Day event.
This year, Williamstown had its first beer festival on the back of a record turnout for its Tall Ships Festival.
A council survey will be used to develop a new events and festivals strategy.
Other major events include Art in Public Places, Movies by the Bay, Williamstown Literary Festival, and activities for the Islamic and GLBTIQ communities.
Surveys may be completed online at surveymonkey.com/s/Eventsandfestivals by February 25.
For further information, call 9932 1000.
