Spring Migration
Victoria’s Spring Migration festival is looking to do some migrating of its own, with organisers revealing they are looking further afield to maintain the viability of next year’s festival.
Organisers Gary Hayward and Andy Stevens said things are still up in the air as to whether they will be a part of the 2009 Spring Migration.
We need some help with the festival because it’s grown too much, said Hayward.
According to their website, the organisers have worn themselves out and are now handing over the reins to the Yackandandah Tourism Association for Spring Migration 2009.
The three-day festival, heading into its fifth year, is tipped to move to Wodonga although Hayward won’t confirm whether he and Stevens will be a part of it.
There’s some underlying stuff … the region would love Spring Migration to keep going, but we need to have quite a few talks with people if we are to keep it going, he said.
Hayward confirmed he is currently in negotiations with other towns in the area and toying with the idea of turning the festival into a week-long celebration.
We’ve been in discussion with the Wodonga Council over plans for the 2009 festival, however nothing is solidified.
Hayward said he could not confirm whether the council had offered funding for the festival.
As sole organisers of the three-day festival, the pair say it has outgrown the town largely because of a lack of accommodation in the area.
Sydney Star Observer has been told that homophobic elements have been at play in at least two venues refusing to allow gay guests to stay. Hayward declined to comment further on these allegations.
It has been reported that an estimated $500,000 goes into the local town’s economy over the festival with accommodation and food and including those who have bought property in the area.
This year’s festival was officially opened and blessed by Tibetan monks and included a dance party, market, buskers, art show and a winery tour and was said to have attracted 2500 people.
there is no such person as Bill,ive spoken to the policeman and he said he didnt invite anyone for a cuppa tea at the police station,so why would any one want to write such rubbish above.My name is GARY not gay, bill also cant spell,i never spoke to this person about the policeman.The local priests are not gay,there are a couple of priests in the next town but they are not out of the closet.I showed them bills letter above and they were furious.Why bring folk festival into this story of fiction by bill.The whole community who wanted to be involved were inviolved.Wodonga council have not tried to get the festival.However there were two people we knocked back from being volunteers,for our own reasons and that reason is what this so called BILL in his letter of fiction has written above I hope sydney star puts our letter on this site so the truth is known,as we are the organisers of this festival and we would also like to say we have contacted the two people that we didnt choose to be voluteers and they said they knew nothing about what is written above by bill
What homophobia, really? There is a great gay lifestyle in the area. I have spoken to the policeman and he invited my partner and I to have a cup of tea of the police station. We found him to be very warm and welcomming. He assuresd us he was rostered on that night and did not suddenly change shifts. He normally does breath test at night on the weekends and was not targeting the event at all. I was told by Gay and Andy that he was doing this to disrupt the festival. If that was so he would do it at the end of the night after everyone had been drinking, he only breath tested before the party where everyone drank. Yackandandah is very gay friendly. There are some nutters everywhere, but very few in this part of Victoria. My partner and I moved to Wodonga and have found great nieghbours, great friends, and at work knowone has said anything about us. We went to a wedding with that had over 100 people who were all locals and people asked us to get up and dance together so we did. Know one battered an eyelid. Even some of the local priest are gay and are open about it. We think that Spring Migration had many faults not least of all as it was not run by the community. As much as Gary and Andy put in many many hours of hard work you must involve the community in such events. I do not think there was any homophobia to speak of, but the normal troubles of trying to run a large event in a small country town. Not everyone wants large events and other festivals there also have the same sort of small trouble with some people who run accommodation saying they are full when they are not. The folk festival suffered the had this problem with two of the accommodation places. Spring Migration has been a great way to help connect people in the community to people who are gay or lesbian, and presently Wodonga Council is trying to get it from the Yackandandah Tourist Association as the vast majority of people want the event to continue. Having said all this I take my hat of to Gary and Andy for all the hard work they have done making the festival happen. I wanted to help volunteer but the offer was rejected as Gary and Andy wanted to everything, this of course has resulted in them being so exhausted.
Ive been a TWO times to this amazing festival its one of those great times in a gay persons life,its such a mixture of people from all walks of life and all i can say it was amazing congrats on the two guys who run it.The first year there was not so many people the guys had lost there 3am license buy the local policeman who said no one wanted this festival,so a week before the festival They only had the 1.00am license,a few complaints made to joy radio melbourne about this and the policeman.No one could get a room at either the yack hotel or the township hotel that was 80 beds, the guys didnt have for there visitors to stay.I had a chat to one of the organisers and he said he didnt want this kind of homophobia to beat them.I didnt go for two years then decided to go again 2008.WE couldnt get a room at the yack hotel or the township hotel and this was months before,same attidudes,so we drove from wodonga and as soon as we got into yack about 6.30pm flashing lights and breath testing patrons going to the festival,same policeman as the first year,only 100 meters from the hall in the middle of the street outside the organisers shop and residence.SHOULD WE FIND THIS STRANGE,Speaking to one of the organisers he seemed really stressed that the festival goers were subjected to this in its 4th year.The monks were great the message from the mayor was fantastic and the atmosphere was just pure fun, What a great night,Busses were supplied for the festival goers to take them back to closer towns where they were staying.Seeing as the organisers were trying to make world history with the monks opening the festival for the gay community in a tiny town,All i can say it was Amazing.The people of yackandandah are so friendly except for those mentioned above,im sure there is alot more to this story than has come out.Maybe like the begining of mardigras and the gay people that were arrested and bashed by the police.Some of those attitudes maybe still exist,and seeing that the local policeman cant welcome the visitors here,and cancelling the license the first year, and two accom places shutting there doors,and getting breath tested on the way to the festival this year.Maybe it was two much for the organisers,to see these few try and stop the festival with this kind of treatment to its visitors.But the positives of this festival was amazing