Bendigo easter review

AN EASTER Monday parade through Bendigo could be back on the cards.Easter Festival committee members this week met Bendigo band members who had spoken out against changes to move an annual gala parade to Easter Sunday.Golden City Pipe Band president Chris Earl launched a petition in the wake of the announcement and called for a decision reversal to keep the parade on Easter Monday.“At the end of the meeting we asked if there was a commitment to go back and have another look at their decision,” he said.“(Committee member) David Wright said, ‘I will tell you right now, yep at the next meeting I will bring it up so we discuss this decision’.“As a result, David Wright has put it back on the Easter Festival organising committee.”The Easter Festival was traditionally a four-day event that stretched from Good Friday to Easter Monday.But this year’s offering was three days because the Monday was Anzac Day.Last month, festival organisers announced they would again offer a shortened three-day festival.“One of the key points that has been raised since the announcement that the 2012 festival would be Good Friday to Easter Sunday but for a lot of bands each year, and since 1974, that is when their respective national championships are,” Mr Earl said.“There has been a lot of community discussion and a three-day festival is fine but it should be the right three days to maximise community participation.“Without bands it is not really right for the community festival.”Mr Earl said band members, and church officials, would be happy with a three-festival between Easter Saturday and Easter Monday.Easter Festival committee chairman and Bendigo mayor Rod Fyffe initiated Thursday night’s meeting.He said yesterday the meeting was a good opportunity to bring organisers and band stakeholders together. “The bands have a real interest in wanting the festival to be successful,” Cr Fyffe said.“We will provide their report back to (the committee) and certainly David will be free to raise the suggestions that were made. “We had a couple of people there – three others from the committee – that listened to the concerns of the bands and are trying to work out a way through this to ensure it’s a great 2012 Easter Festival.“We will consider what they said and we will go from there.”The Easter Festival committee might meet as early as next week to discuss the bands’ concerns.