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The fields behind Perth town hall were awash in a sea of lawn chairs this past July for the annual Stewart Park Festival.
File photo
This year’s Stewart Park Festival ran a deficit of $1,300, which will be paid out of reserves.
Currently, the festival has about $7,000 in reserves but coordinator intern Rachel Morgan said she would like to keep $10,000 in the reserves fund, just in case.
Morgan released her post-festival report at the Town of Perth’s committee-of-the-whole meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11, in which she outlined the successes and challenges of the July 20 to 22 event.
Morgan noted that the camping package at Last Duel Park raised about $545 in revenue which was “excellent for the first year” especially considering that it was “created less than a month before” the festival. It also helped that she was able to avail of grant money to keep the project in the black.
The shuttle bus between the camp ground and the park was also a hit, but ended up costing about $771.
There were 200 volunteers for the three-day event, who contributed a grand total of 1,500 hours of service. The festival also raised $4,000 more than was planned, through $945 from the Rainbow Run, and CD sales were $1,500 more than expected. There was a cost over-run of $100 on buttons, but this was thanks in part to an investment in a button machine, which will pay off in years to come.
There was also a cost overrun of $500 on volunteer shirts, but the organizers spent $300 less on brochures – even though this meant that they ran out of brochures faster. Security also cost $100 more and organizers faced $700 more than anticipated on tent rentals.
Morgan told the committee that she will be working on grants to extend her position at the town, and to bring in more well-known bands for next year’s event.
She also added that they are working on evacuation procedures.