No Golden Plains Festival in 2022

ORGANISERS of the annual Golden Plains music festival have reluctantly called off the fifteenth edition of the event in Meredith scheduled for March next year.

It’s the second year in a row the event has been cancelled.

In a statement issued late last week, Aunty Meredith – the voice organisers use for both Golden Plains and Meredith music festivals, said they had “tried incredibly hard to make it happen.”

“Turned every stone a hundred times. Looked at it from every possible, and impossible, angle. We allowed as much time and space as we could,” the statement said.

“In the end, there wasn’t any one single thing that knocked it out. More a seriously sizeable series of things which proved – at this particular moment in time, for our particular circumstances – insurmountable for Golden Plains to take flight.”

The statement said hosting 12,000 people across three days and two nights at The Supernatural Amphitheatre, was “a massive undertaking and one we approach with rigour and enthusiasm.”

“The free range fun-of-every-flavour, all the good stuff that lets us get loose (while keeping our shit together), relies on each underpinning component being present and robust and all the moving parts being in tune,” the statement said.

“This means deep consideration and care for every aspect of your presence here on the farm, from start to finish, through two sunups and sundowns, highs, lows, mediums, all manner of human wants and needs, and every kind of atmospheric condition. The time of your life. Then everyone safely home at the end, in time for tea. Golden.

“It hurts to think that I won’t be able to host you on the slight incline of The Sup’ this autumn, to offer up all the goodness this sweet little parcel of land provides in so many ways to so many people.

“But when I genuinely examine the facts, for our unique thing, at this unique time, there’s no other decision I can arrive at. The circumstances we are in do not match the circumstances required for this Golden Plains to happen. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s no one thing.”

The statement thanked everyone for their efforts in trying to get Golden Plains 2022 up and running.

“The feeling is almost overwhelming and undeniably inspiring, and I’m immensely grateful. I also want to thank everybody who has sent messages throughout this long time apart,” the statement said.

“The energy that came our way to turn Golden Plains on has tripled our resolve for a very special 30th Meredith next December, and a very golden GP XV after that.”

The announcement came after organisers had earlier this year cancelled the Meredith Music Festival which normally takes place in December.

In August this year the Federal Government announced that organisers of both events were to receive $650,000 from the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand Fun to help run the events in 2021 and 2022.