Hold the celebrations, because the battle to retain the blossom festival is far from over, acting festival chairman Tim Cadogan says.
Although more than 350 people showed their support for the event by attending a public meeting in Alexandra last week, and 850 had registered their support online on a social networking site, the fate of the festival was still uncertain, Mr Cadogan said last week. Its future still hinged on the outcome of a Vincent Community Board meeting on March 29.
The board will be asked to bail out the festival, which has sustained three consecutive years of significant losses.
"The meeting and the online support and the feedback I've received show that people are still engaged in the festival.
"My fear is that people will think that because of the success of that public meeting, especially, they'll think they've done enough to ensure the future of the event," Mr Cadogan said.
"People are starting to think it's in the bag- well, it's not, and there's no need for complacency."
Mr Cadogan is the community board's representative on the festival committee and was made acting chairman after the 2007-09 chairman Steve Battrick resigned earlier this year.
A public appeal was launched at the meeting and the level of that fund would also have been seen by the board as an indication of support for the festival to continue, he said.
Within 48 hours of the launch, $1652 had been banked and a further $7500 pledged from individuals and businesses.
An updated total was unavailable last week.
Mr Cadogan is canvassing businesses in the area for their views on the festival and how it should be funded.
He said the crisis was giving the town an opportunity to review the festival and promotion in the area in general.
"The views of the businesses need to be heard clearly, particularly in light of the fact that the businesses of Alexandra contribute 75% of the promotion funding [distributed by the community board]."
Mr Cadogan asked businesspeople whether the board should provide the funds to repay the $81,290 debt owing on the 2009 festival, even if that affected rates.
He also asked if the remaining $11,000 in the board's promotions budget should be used for that purpose.
The promotions budget was $45,000 for 2010 and he asked businesses if all or some of that money should be used to bail out the blossom festival.
After talking to many people about the matter this month, he believed there was a groundswell of support for the festival, provided "appropriate changes are made; particularly in management and governance".
