Last Friday, Councillors received a copy of a media release about Council's Corporate Sponsorship program. It read, “Several annual iconic Redland events continue to benefit from Council sponsorship in 2010, including RedFest, which received $20,000 and $13,000 for the Redlands Easter Family Festival”.
Deputy Mayor Councillor Murray Elliott responded by highlighting a word in the media release that he found “offensive” and demanded it be removed! He wrote, “ The RedFest festival is not iconic and I find the tag offensive and poorly used on an event of this level. It needs to be removed.”
To be fair and upfront, let me declare my involvement in these festivals as a volunteer in some capacity for the past decade. During that time, Cr Elliott has NEVER accepted an invitation to attend RedFest (formerly Redland Strawberry Festival and Redland Spring Festival) or to volunteer his time.
RedFest has morphed out of the Redland Strawberry Festival and has occurred on the same weekend each year at the Cleveland Showgrounds for the last 52 years. If nothing else, its significance lies in its survival over time, unlike most other events in our City.
It began in Capalaba in 1933 by selling off a glut of strawberries to raise money for a community hall. Over time, it changed its format to meet the changing cultural needs of our community to survive. It has a cultural significance to this region whether it be a reflection of our agricultural history or a demonstration of our sense of community that comes together to make this happen each year. In the last 5 years, numerous community groups have had endless opportunities to be involved in a number of ways, including fundraising. In excess of $40 000 has been raised for their individual cause for groups such as Scouts, Lions, Rotary, Matthew Stanley Foundation, sporting clubs, Girl Guides, Redlands Arts Council, Folk Redlands and P & C groups.
Maybe the word "iconic" is an overused hyperbole? Or is it the word "offensive" that is hyperbolic in Cr Elliott's response? Maybe RedFest and the Easter Festival are not the "Running of the Bulls" in Spain or the "Carnivale" of Brazil? No-one is pretending they are internationally or nationally significant but locally they have relevance.
I challenge Cr Elliott to tell us what event or other feature in the Redlands is iconic and if he cannot name any - what is he and Council doing to ensure that we have something of cultural significance to put us on the map as a community.
I expect community leaders to endorse and promote any contribution from their volunteer community. Build them up - not cut them down with uninformed judgements. Build pride instead of snubbing the hard work and good intentions of those in our community.
I believe Redlands deserves much, much more! We need to encourage our Council to create partnerships and if that means getting out there and volunteering one's time to such community events - iconic or not - it would be time better spent than arguing the descriptive value of one word in a media release.
Is this the level of support that you expect from your Councillors as a community?
