There’s nothing wrong with a review of something that has been going on for a long time.
It’s just that when governments announce a review it can sometimes be code for giving it the axe.
But that’s not what Campbelltown Mayor Darcy Lound has in mind with his review of the Fisher’s Ghost Festival.
Truth is that the annual event hasn’t got the same vitality as it had 20-25 years ago.
That’s when a review should have been held to find ways to freshen it up, including the heart and soul of the festival, the parade down our main street.
Unfortunately, a delusional attitude from some loud media quarters prevailed and the festival was allowed to continue to slowly lose its appeal.
The parade copped the axe a few years ago, and I’d have to say last year the festival may as well not have been on – it was that invisible.
That’s what it felt like anyway, and to my way of thinking it started to look like the councillors got it wrong and it wasn’t the parade that was the problem with our wonderful festival.
As most locals know there are plenty of moves to bring back the parade, so the review has come at the right time.
And that’s exactly what will happen now, starting with the back to the future move of enlisting the community via an advisory committee.
Its make up hasn’t happened yet, but one would assume that community members will be carefully selected.
The mayor – and any councillor who wishes to be on the committee – will naturally be part of it.
As someone who has been involved in such festival committees before, it’s important to remember that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the Fishers Ghost Festival.
The central theme must always be built around the story of Fred Fisher and his ghost.
From there it’s just a matter of celebrating Campbelltown history, from Aboriginal times to colonial rule to our modern, multicultural community.
What the review needs to do is re-imagine our heritage and put it together in a compelling festival that lasts a week or even a month.
But always starts with a parade that maybe can finish with a gigantic community barbecue in Koshigaya Park where we’re all invited.
The overpriced fun-fair which is totally out of touch with the economic situation of the community it aims to provide value for – and probably actively excludes them – isn’t the best way to celebrate anything.
It seems like we wheel out the same setup a few times a year. Maybe scale it back a bit or find a new economic model so that it can actually be affordable for local families. That should be a core consideration for whatever shape the festival takes moving forward.
Wasn’t the same since around 20-25 years ago? What a load of codswollop! My husband and I attended the parades about three years, circa 2012-2014.
If it was good for council to put in so much effort to the Billabong Parklands, then it’s good enough for them to bring the parade back.
To make it more financially feasible, a good start would be for council to charge the stall owners, local companies and organisations, as well as community groups, less. This will result in a ripple effect so that people will be more likely to participate.
I can distinctly remember the Fisher’s Ghost Parade way back last Century during its halcyon periods of the 1960’s plus the 1970’s when It was such a fun family affair and lining Queen Street in Campbelltown awaiting to see the amazing decorated Floats slowly snake themselves along Queen Street to the cheers of many in the bustling crowd.
The highlight of the Fisher’s Ghost Parade were the rickety antique vehicles from the 1920’s which were driven by adults with white sheets thrown over them accompanied by their children sitting i the rear back seat dressed similarly with holes cut out of the cotton fabric so that they could see and also give the Illusion of what terror lay within that dastardly vehicle.
Those ghosts generally threw sweets from inside of a cane wicker basket aimed at the crowd resulting in a mad scramble to grab them all by people of all ages, afterwards we all attended a carnival held in Mawson Park In Queen Street In Campbelltown where all sorts of rides were on offer.
Novelty prizes from the shooting gallery plus you could gorge yourself silly eating massive pieces of fresh cold sliced watermelon sold at ridiculous cheap prices accompanied by a generous slice of home made apricot or apple pie washed down with a luscious tasty fulfilling delicious strawberry milkshake; such great times were had by everybody back – it was an innocent time never to be replicated.