RESIDENTS and representatives of the region\u2019s south-western community groups took part in a community meeting last week aimed at shaping the local involvement in an upcoming music event return.<\/p>\n
With the Beyond the Valley Music Festival set to return to Barunah Plains later this year, the organisers behind the event at Untitled Group sought to engage with local stakeholders to discuss how the event can benefit everyone.<\/p>\n
The organisation\u2019s director of festivals and major events Pete Sofo said a stall-holding position for the festival\u2019s community barbecue was the key topic of discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something we offer at our other festival, Pitch Music Festival, and it\u2019s a significant factor in how we contribute funds to the local community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Pitch, funds from the community barbecue have gone on to build playgrounds at the local primary school and gotten new facilities at the sporting club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to get this over the line last year but couldn\u2019t with concern over lack of knowledge and lack of staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting took place at the Inverleigh Public Hall on Thursday evening, with representatives from the town\u2019s primary school, cricket club, and CFA, as well as Golden Plains Shire attending.<\/p>\n
A Moyston resident spoke at the meeting about her experiences as a volunteer with Pitch Music Festival.<\/p>\n
Wayne Peel, a member of the Leigh Valley Lions Club attended the meeting and though he said it was a well-conducted one, no concrete outcomes have been achieved yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey presented the case pretty well, but it\u2019s about finding someone to come in and do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUs Lions aren\u2019t interested mainly because of the time because it\u2019ll be our biggest time of the year for farming, and a lot of our members are over 65 with families.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure what\u2019s going to come out of it or what the rest of the community\u2019s thoughts are on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The previous event, last held in December into January this year, was mired with issues to do with amenities, lack of shading, and a chaotic end which saw more than 30,000 people bottlenecked at the site\u2019s single exit.<\/p>\n
Mr Sofo said the previous event\u2019s issues, many of which were brought up during the meeting, are being addressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main concerns this year are around fire and connectivity so we\u2019re working on infrastructure with Telstra,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also had our fire commander at the meeting to discuss the plans we have in place for this year, and it felt like that allayed a lot of the concerns from residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hopeful the traffic issues we had last year won\u2019t repeat itself. We\u2019re aiming to stagger the exit times by having a lot more activity happening on the campsite to keep people there longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
A follow-up meeting is set to take place on Thursday next week, also at the Inverleigh Public Hall.<\/p>\n
A list of community groups interested in volunteering for the festival is also being collated by municipal staff, which can be registered for by emailing business@gplains.vic.gov.au.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RESIDENTS and representatives of the region\u2019s south-western community groups took part in a community meeting last week aimed at shaping the local involvement in an upcoming music event return. With the Beyond the Valley Music Festival set to return to Barunah Plains later this year, the organisers behind the event at Untitled Group sought to […]<\/p>\n