The Ord Valley Muster showcases the East Kimberley's Indigenous culture, pastoral heritage, and spectacular landscape, but a ticket sale dive at last month's event has put the festival on shaky financial ground.
Ticket sales plunged at this year's Ord Valley Muster amid a tough year for festivals across Australia.Organisers are lobbying the state government for more funding to ensure the festival remains viable.
The festival, based in Kununurra, showcases the region's rich Indigenous culture, pastoral heritage, and spectacular frontier landscape while residents in the remote hub relish seeing high-quality live music without having to drive or fly huge distances.Ord Valley Events chair Sophie Cooke said the festival failed to turn a profit and general admittance ticket sales for the headline music concert, the Kimberley Moon Experience, were down more than 60 per cent compared to last year.
"I think it's absolutely the responsibility of government to make sure things like this are viable. It is a pretty difficult time."Screaming Jets frontman and Australian rock veteran Dave Gleeson was also among the headline acts, and said he placed a higher social value on concerts in regional areas.
"It's these festivals that keep us alive, that keep that community going and make the community proud of where they live."About a third of Kununurra's residents are Indigenous, and Aboriginal culture makes up a big part of the festival through events such as Corroboree Under the Stars and Storytelling Night, with senior Miriwoong man David Newry.
The event's chair pushed for more funding in a meeting with the Minister for Tourism, Rita Saffioti, when a group of senior government ministers were in Kununurra last week. Over $20m in value stripped from homes in Brisbane estate after 'unprecedented' heritage listing introducedAppeal judges don't have a say on 'very rare' fourth trial for Jarryd Hayne, but hinted at their thoughts
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