Merri-bek Council is planning to:

1. Cancel the Fawkner Festa and the Glenroy Festival. They want to replace them with smaller events spread across different suburbs.
2. Move the Sydney Road  Street Festival (the start of Brunswick Music Festival) from an annual event to one every 2 years

We say: please leave our festivals alone

Our festivals bring the whole community together. They are special because:

• People from many different cultures, languages and backgrounds come together in one place
• Everyone is welcome — young people, older people, new arrivals, long-term residents, LGBTIQA+ community members, people with disability
• They are free and easy to get to
• Local food, music, art and businesses get to shine
• People meet their neighbours and make new friends
• Families feel proud of where they live

What do we lose if the festivals are cancelled?

• A place where everyone belongs, no matter where they come from
• The chance for different communities to meet and understand each other
• A safe and joyful public space for the whole suburb
• A platform for important community campaigns — the festivals have helped our community speak up about local pools, train lines, post offices and environmental issues
• Years of hard work building something that cannot easily be rebuilt

What does the Council's own strategy say?

Merri-bek Council has a plan called the Arts Merri-bek Strategy 2023–2030. It says the Council will:

• Support festivals that bring people together across the whole municipality
• Make sure everyone can take part, especially people from migrant and refugee communities, LGBTIQA+ people, people with disability, young people and older people
• Prioritise the north of Merri-bek, where Fawkner and Glenroy are located
• Use arts and culture to create social inclusion and social justice

Cancelling these festivals goes against the Council's own promises

The ask is simple

Retain the Fawkner Festa,  Sydney Road  Street Festival (the start of Brunswick Music Festival)  and Glenroy Festival as annual events.

If budget is the concern, work with communities to find co-funding, sponsorship or volunteer models — do not simply eliminate events that have taken years to build and cannot easily be rebuilt once lost.

If the words "social inclusion," "cultural diversity" and "place-making" are to mean anything more than strategic language in a policy document, these festivals must remain.

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Some reading:

"Experts agree that hometown pride is a critical factor in the development and improvement of any community. Residents with community pride are more likely to speak positively about their town to others and to volunteer with organizations and activities that support the common good."

Gunderson, M. (n.d.). Community festivals — Big benefits, but risks, too. University of Minnesota Extension. 

Hassanli, N., Walters, T., & Williamson, J. (2021). ‘You feel you’re not alone’: how multicultural festivals foster social sustainability through multiple psychological sense of community. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(11–12), 1792–1809. 

Stevenson, N. (2021). The contribution of community events to social sustainability in local neighbourhoods. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(11–12), 1776–1791. Published online 17 August 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1808664 nih

Son, I. S., & Krolikowski, C. (2024). Developing a sense of place through attendance and involvement in local events: the social sustainability perspective. Pages 715–726. Published online 16 April 2024. Tourism Recreation Research, 49(5), 715–726. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2024.2335749

Mahalakshmi, Yadav, P., Rani, J., Cajla, P., Khurana, S., & Ghosh, R. K. (2025). The impact of local festivals on social cohesion and community identity among residents. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 7, 2025ss0322. https://malque.pub/ojs/index.php/msj/article/view/11101