One of the packed gigs during the Port Kembla Festival. Photo: Supplied.
More than 4000 people turned out this month for Port Kembla Festival’s biggest event yet, but behind the scenes, it was also its most underfunded.
Organisers have launched a GoFundMe to plug a $7000 shortfall and help secure the future of the much-loved free festival, as shrinking funding puts its next edition at risk.
Run by boutique event production and booking agency Holy Pavlova, founder Harrison Hall said the 18 April event saw more than 40 artists across 10 venues and the main street, but despite the crowds and glowing feedback, the event remained financially vulnerable.
“It was definitely the biggest Port Kembla Festival we’ve run to date, which is awesome,” he said.
“The vibe on the street was incredible.
“There were families, people of all ages and backgrounds, lines down the street for people trying to get into places from 2 pm through to 11 pm.
“It was really as successful as it gets for this type of event.
“It was the biggest, but it was also the most underfunded to date.”
Harrison said the not-for-profit event survived this year by relying heavily on in-kind labour from artists, creatives and volunteers, but there were sub costs that were unavoidable.
“It got to the point where we just made the decision that we would run ahead even knowing that it would cost us a little bit,” he said.
“We’ve decided to do a little bit of an outreach to see if people would be interested in doing a pay-as-you-feel, and just help cover some of those costs.”
He said the GoFundMe campaign had an immediate goal of covering $7000 in outstanding costs from this year’s event.
“It’s a hole that would be amazing to be filled and, more importantly, to drive funding into the 2027 event,” he said.
“We had 4000 people rock up, so if everyone chips in $2, we’re covered. It’s not the craziest amount.”
Harrison said the second goal was to raise funds towards the $40,000 needed to help fund the 2027 festival, giving organisers the confidence to start planning without beginning the year with “zero in the bank”.
Started in 2022, sparked by a Wollongong City Council community event grant made available during COVID, he said they were able to continue it by relying on grants, sponsorships and contributions from venues along the main strip.
“‘The main one is grants and that’s become more competitive,” he said.
“I think the general funding opportunities are probably a little bit less as we move away from COVID times.
“What we tend to find is that grant bodies prefer to fund new projects, which is totally fair and just, because everyone deserves a chance to thrive.
“That means that the odds of us going back to the same grant body each year and being re-awarded funding is quite low.”
He said without some form of advance funding, confidence in staging the 2027 edition became “a little bit less”.
“Obviously ticketing the event, or ticketing a stage, has always been an option, and something we’ve considered every year,” he said.
“However, what we believe is that it really detracts from the event.”
Harrison said from an operational standpoint, ticketing would be difficult for an event that ran across multiple venues and on-street activations over many hours, with its original appeal being the opportunity to “bounce from space to space” across Port Kembla.
He said it was especially difficult for things such as street projections or the skate ramp with pro skaters.
“Importantly for us, keeping it free means that it just reduces barriers to entry for everybody,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter your age, your background, and, importantly, your financial situation, you can come along and enjoy a bit of live music.”
Harrison said the demand for the festival spoke for itself, with people “lining up literally all day” outside venues.
He said alongside that, it was also a critical economic driver for businesses in the area.
“It’s the single biggest driver each year in Port Kembla for retail and hospitality spend,” he said.
“Economically, it’s really important for the businesses in town, particularly because that area can be a little bit quiet on a day-to-day basis.
“Culturally too, it’s the largest community-run festival in the area.
“People just really enjoy it, so I think to pull the pin just because the funding gets a bit hard would really impact people.”
He said he had appreciated all the grant bodies, sponsors and venues which had supported the festival financially during the past five years and “kept the dream alive so far”.
“People funded it to the level they could, and it’s a shame that it wasn’t enough,” he said.
“It’s just for us a matter of backfilling some of those holes and getting momentum forward for 2027.”
You can contribute to the Port Kembla Festival GoFundMe campaign.
