SWAN Hill Eisteddfod organisers have declared this year’s event will be the last, after vital management roles were unable to be filled in time.
Despite a campaign spearheaded by The Guardian to save the 18-year-old event from folding, the festival’s three main organisers, who will retire from their positions following this year’s event, have not been able to find any volunteers willing to take up the reins.
With most of the eisteddfod, to be held next month, already organised, eisteddfod committee member and dance coordinator Barb Uebergang said it would now be too late to show future volunteers how to organise it.
“If they haven’t come on board now, we would have to do it all again next year for them to see what to do,” Ms Uebergang said.
“It’s too big [to learn it on the job], particularly the dance side.”
Ms Uebergang said the non-continuation of the eisteddfod, which attracts more than 250 participants from across the state, was disappointing for the region, being the only one of its kind outside of Bendigo.
“VCE students are coming to be adjudicated… it’s a great opportunity for the kids to get a critique on their work before they do their exam, so that’s all going by the wayside now,” she said.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (July 29).
