Organiser Peter McCormack from McCormack Barber, the event’s major private sponsor, said finding sponsorship has never been easy.

“We have donated $25,000 every year since it began in 2011,” he said.

“And Orange Council has donated $30,000 every year and that along with funds from other sponsors has allowed it to happen.”

The council has rejected a request for $20,000 from McCormack Barber for the 2015/16 event and has allocated $10,300 combined with an offer of the balance in in-kind support.

But Mr McCormack feels the in-kind portion is unnecessary.

“We don’t need help to organise it, we have already run the event four times, we need funds to help pay for all the facilities that have to be put in place,” he said.

“Traffic control, a police and medical presence, staging, lighting and sound equipment etc. These all need to be paid for with cash.”

Mr McCormack said he would continue to seek funding and there were two possible options.

“Either the event won’t happen at all, or that we will just have a fireworks display only,” he said.

At Orange City Council’s meeting on Tuesday night, mayor John Davis expressed fears the event would disappear without the council’s support.

“If it doesn’t work, we won’t get it back,” he said.

While he felt the combination of money and in-kind support was a good one, he said perhaps the council needed to look more closely at its donations expenditure.

“I know there’s a limit - it doesn’t just keep expanding, it’s going to bust,” he said.

However, there may still be hope for extra funds after general manager Garry Styles told councillors he would come back to the council if there was a gap in the operating budget.

danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au