ORGANISERS of the Banjo Paterson Australian Poetry Festival are gearing up to convince the state government to fund part of next year’s event.
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The five-day festival wrapped up on Sunday with the Emmaville Markets, after the poetry recital competition on Saturday night and the night markets on Friday.
Brand Orange executive officer Rhonda Sear said the fledgling festival’s attendance was strong given the limited budget the committee had to work with.
About 3000 people attended the night market on Friday, 2000 short of general numbers at the FOOD Week night market and the Wine Week night market.
“It was certainly the biggest Banjo Paterson night market we’ve had and this is only the third year we’ve had this festival,” Mrs Sear said.
She said postcode nominations from visitors suggested it was well targeted being a “local, family-orientated event.”
The Banjo Paterson Australian Poetry Festival targeted a different crowd than the FOOD and wine weeks and it was obvious it had tapped into that market, but with more funding the committee could spend more on advertising, she said.
“We had people from Norfolk Island and New Zealand and far north Queensland, and the market was poetry and it got that market ... but with limited funds we relied very heavily on strong local partnerships, sponsors and the local media,” Mrs Sear said.
The poetry competition on Saturday night drew competitors from as far as Port Macquarie, Taree, Murrumbateman, Moree and the Hunter Valley.
Mrs Sear said the committee attempted to gain funding grants from the state government this year, but failed because the festival had not gained enough of a following, but rather than disappoint the committee, the rejection had only fired the team up to prove the 2017 festival was worth the money.
She said the festival was only possible because of the Rotary Club of Orange volunteers who worked tirelessly to build the event up and run the show smoothly.
“They are just amazing, absolutely awesome, I just can’t thank them enough, they have worked so hard,” she said.