Case study: Childers Festival of Cultures
From its modest beginnings in 1996 on the outskirts of Childers attracting only 6,000 people, the annual Childers Festival of Cultures now draws in excess of 50,000 people over the festival weekend. With no entry fees, the festival commences on Saturday with a myriad of artists performing in the main street and on various stages and continues on the Sunday with over 450 food, wine and craft stalls. Caring for and controlling this number of participants and visitors of all ages on the festival site – (the main Bruce Highway which passes through the centre of town) - needs careful planning. The festival uses several strategies.
The Festival committee has representatives from the Fire, Police, Ambulance and Emergency Services, as well as from the service clubs and Council. Police are on traffic duty to ensure that the closure of the Bruce Highway presents the least inconvenience for diverted through traffic. Security guards are employed over night to patrol the streets and ensure that the equipment is safe. During the day, however, the festival organisers are supported by up to eight members of the Police, as the Police have more powers should something go wrong.
There is ease of access for emergency vehicles, with ambulance services available at each end of the area and a central first aid facility is set up. A good relationship was established early on with Ergon Energy to ensure appropriate access to power supply and two local electricians are on standby over the weekend. Random checks are carried out by the Fire Brigade to ensure current inspection tags are attached to all electrical leads and current "in date" certification labels attached to gas cylinders. Defective items are removed. Advantage was taken of a Streetscape Project, which built in the needs of the Festival and updated power supply points. Great attention is paid to waste disposal, although currently there are no recycling facilities in the town.
Teams of six pick up litter throughout the festival. They use two way radios and mobile phones to communicate regarding litter hotspots. Large skips and 44 gallon drums for cooking oil are provided. Portable restroom trailers are used rather than individual portable toilets and can be managed by one person. As Festival manager, Nancy Calder, explains, “our aim is to ensure everyone has a pleasant, comfortable and safe time”. She also warns festival organisers to be aware that sites can change unexpectedly over time – for example, new plantings of trees can upset the best laid plans. A debriefing session is held within a week after each festival to ensure valuable lessons are learned for the following year.
Image: Childers Festival of Cultures 2008 | Photo: Wayne Heidrich, Isis Town and Country