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How potato and Elvis festivals reap economic benefits

'Serious fun -- festivals and the revitalisation of rural Australia' will be the topic for the next Uni in the Brewery presentation to be held tomorrow (Wednesday 26 August) at the Five Islands Brewery.

Economic decline in non-metropolitan Australia has become an issue of national importance and has been magnified by the recent financial crisis. Despite this, numerous towns have sought to reinvent themselves through staging festivals, according to Associate Professor Chris Gibson of UOW’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, who will give the presentation.

He will speak about the effects of festivals on struggling rural Australian towns.

Struggling towns in non-metropolitan Australia have promoted festivals of all sorts, as a community-building exercise, and to attract visitors and income. But are such festivals significant for rural communities in contrast to their apparent short-lived nature?

During the evening, Professor Gibson will discuss his results from Australia’s largest ever project on the social and economic importance of festivals for non-metropolitan Australia. He will also officially launch his project findings and provide hard copies of his report entitled ‘Reinventing Rural Places’.

“Our research team at UOW compiled a database of 2,800 participating festivals; talked in depth to the organisers of 480 festivals in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, and worked in partnership with individual festivals to assess their impacts and significance for non-metropolitan communities.

“Our findings show that festivals are strongly connected to local communities through employment, volunteerism and participation,” Professor Gibson said.

Rural festivals have proliferated and diversified in recent years from the traditional country show to evermore whacky niches such as the Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival, the Wooli Goanna Pulling Festival, the Thoona Latin American and Wheely Bin Festival and, of course, the Parkes’ Elvis Impersonators Festival.

Professor Gibson will highlight how despite festivals being mostly small-scale, economically modest affairs, geared around community goals, the regional proliferation of festivals produces enormous direct and indirect economic benefits.

“At a time when Australians are reassessing what makes our economy more or less resilient to global economic forces, important lessons can be learned from festivals and their stories of grass-roots community-building,” he said.

The event, being held from 5.30 to 6.30pm, is free and everyone is welcome. And an Elvis impersonator is expected to attend.

For further information contact Associate Professor Chris Gibson on (02) 4221 3448 or 0438 233 166 (m).