Perth Voice Interactive

THREE groups are locked in a struggle to deliver the next Maylands street festival.

The Maylands Business Association ran the last of three biennial events in 2012, with a November 2014 festival not happening because the MBA couldn’t organise enough funding or volunteers (Voice, December 11, 2014).

With the MBA now focused on a March festival, two rival groups are seeking to muscle in.

Local Arts and Community Events—which runs the local hawkers’ market—and local impresario Chrissie Parrott have submitted alternative plans to Bayswater council.

LACE chair Catherine Ehrhardt says there’s not enough time to organise a full festival this year and proposes a May street market instead, “as in March you have the autumn river festival”.

“From next year, LACE would like to organise a full street festival when we have time to secure enough funding,” she says, adding she has “zero confidence” in MBA’s ability to deliver.

But the MBA’s Dominic Cuscuna is confident his group can stage another “first class” festival in March.

“I think it is inappropriate, given the MBA went through a stringent selection process, for other groups to try and usurp us at this late stage.”

Ms Parrott, who ran a performing arts space in Maylands for three years, proposes a mix of live music, performance and visual arts for May.

“There are some big community ideas in this, including a photo booth and a dress-up event,” she says.

“I would like to feature multicultural musicians from the local area.”

Cr Terry Kenyon wants $12,500 of council funds earmarked for the MBA to be put back in the kitty and allocated to the group that can deliver a street festival on schedule. His motion and the alternative proposals come before council later this month.

Meanwhile, the council’s economic development officer, responsible for facilitating local festivals, resigned this month.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK