THE Island Vibe festival will not be held again on North Stradbroke Island given constraints from the Redland City Council and Minjerribah camping.
The festival was held for the 18th and final time at Home Beach in October and was described by festival director Morgyn Quinn as “perfect”.
Despite its success, Morgyn said it was no longer sustainable. “Minjerribah camping closed for the second year in a row the weekend of the Island Vibe, making affordable accommodation difficult,” he said.
“I tried to talk about this with the elders for both of these festivals and we can’t get a conversation going. Luckily, I had some bush camps on native title land and that helped.”
Morgyn said the cost of council compliance for traffic, fencing and safety officers had also risen by $30,000 since 2022.
“The price rise is pretty significant to manage given a shrinking budget. We even have to pay for compliance officers to come and fine people and we also received two fines,” Morgyn said.
He was now faced with the loss of a $5000 bond for the Home Beach grounds, which he believed was left in good condition.
“The park was left in good condition after the event, with the expected wear and tear on the grass from a 1500-person event.
“Despite walking through the oval with festival organisers in the days after the event, the Parks Division has since sent us a bill for $4948 for fertiliser and watering of the field, sending us photos of dry grass as ‘evidence’.
“After two weeks of rain, the field was back to its former state. It seems the annual maintenance of this oval has come at our expense. A football match would do more damage to a council park.”
A Redland City Council spokesperson said approval for the festival included the need to engage external providers to deliver traffic management and security and to address issues such as illegal camping, lighting and parking.
“Council officers inspected the event on a number of occasions to ensure compliance with the temporary entertainment event approval,” the spokesperson said.
Morgyn said it was a shame the festival had to end.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s weaving, dance, the spoken word, cultural. I’m a huge fan and I want to share that passion. I will take the festival elsewhere.”
