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THE Victorian Showmen's Guild has abandoned Bendigo's famous Easter Festival over a $4000 rent increase imposed by the City of Greater Bendigo on the Tom Flood Sports Centre.
The move will see an end to show rides at the Easter Festival for the first time in 100 years.
The council has increased the rent price for three days at the sports centre from $12,000 last year to $16,000.
The Guild said it had been talking with council to try and bring the rent price down to $14,000 since September last year.
Guild representative and ride operator Robert Peters said council offered no explanation for the rent increase and he was beginning to think the council didn't want them there at all.
"The easiest way to get rid of somebody is to price them out," Mr Peters said.
Mr Peters said council had rejected a Guild request for a Bendigo meeting or phone conference on the rent increase.
"They said it's not up for negotiation, it’s just, 'pay it or don’t come'," he said.
Mr Peters said the rides at the Tom Flood Sports Centre were a good opportunity for the 'battlers' who couldn't afford the gate price at the Bendigo Show.
He said the absence of rides would have an economic impact on Bendigo with 200 to 300 people traditionally visiting the city to run the event.
"We all eat, buy fuel and batteries," Mr Peters said.
"Not only that, they are going to lose the $12,000 we used to pay them."
Mr Peters said the Guild asked the council to explain the need for the rent increase but it was not forthcoming.
Bendigo councillor Rod Fyffe is chair of the Bendigo Festival Advisory Committee and said the rent increase was made to recover the cost of staging the event.
“The Bendigo Easter Festival wasn’t trying to make any profit from the increase we just wanted them to cover the actual logistical costs at Tom Flood such as power, security, fencing, generators, electrical services, waste management and site management," Cr Fyffe said.
“After some long discussions the Showmen’s Guild has informed us that with declining patronage it is no longer viable for their operators to continue to come to Bendigo at Easter."
Cr Fyffe said the Bendigo Easter Festival was growing in numbers but attendance at the carnival had declined.
“Like most things, change is inevitable and the Bendigo Easter Festival has over the past 140 years been an evolving festival."
In 2009 the carnival was moved from the CBD to the Tom Flood Sports Centre because of safety concerns.
Cr Fyffe said the festival had other affordable or free family activities including music and entertainment, hands on interactive activities, displays and markets.
“While it will be sad to see the end of the carnival component, the festival will now look at introducing some alternative activities that will entertain our local youth so watch this space,” he said.
Guild representative and ride operator Charlie Miller lives in Heathcote and has been coming to the festival for 35 years.
"You have no idea the money that we spend in your town in that week," Mr Miller said.
He said the show operators used $5000 of their own money to do a fireworks display at the Tom Flood Sports Centre and paid rent to camp at the Showgrounds.
Mr Miller said operators would not give up after this year and would be happy to come back for a reasonable price in 2016.
He said the response from readers on the Bendigo Advertiser's Facebook page showed how much the rides meant to the public.
"So many people will cancel their trip to Bendigo for Easter," he said.
Peter Daly from Bendigo Fireworks said he received a phone call from the Showmen's Guild this morning cancelling the Friday night fireworks display at the festival.
For years the Guild has paid for a fireworks display which it says brings people to the Tom Flood Sports Centre.
Mr Daly said the Saturday fireworks paid for by the City of Greater Bendigo would still go ahead.
THE AFTERMATH