Following the troubles surrounding its ability to secure a permit with local council, Rainbow Serpent Festival was looking down the barrel of being cancelled for its 2013 edition just days out from the festival’s kick-off.
Luckily, after tabled meetings between festival organisers Green Ant Productions and Pyrenees Shire Council to satisfy their approval of the changes to the event’s emergency services, and a direct appeal from Ms Adriana Buccianti – the mother of 34-year-old Daniel Buccianti who died at last year’s festival of a drug-related overdose – Rainbow Serpent went ahead as planned.
The four-day festival of arts and music, from international and local dance DJS and trance acts, regularly pulls large numbers and business to the north-west Ballarat town of Lexton, in Beaumont. And despite numbers being down from expected, and some questionable ‘recreational’ activity at the festival, organisers and local council are looking forward to Rainbow Serpent’s return next year.
According to The Courier, Pyrenees Shire Mayor Michael O’Connor is quoted as saying he saw “no reason” why the festival should not return for 2014, adding that he visited Rainbow Serpent festival at Lexton for “several hours at the weekend” and said the attendees were “well behaved.”“From a council perspective, we think it all went fairly well” – Mayor Michael O’Connor, Pyrenees Shire
“From a council perspective, we think it all went fairly well,” says the Mayor, emphasising the economic boost to businesses in Beaufort and Lexton thanks to the festival.
Though council approval stalled the event at the 11th hour last week, crowd attendance at the music festival was expected to reach about 15,000, final numbers reached around 13,000.
“I’m told there was just under 13,000 people, which I think was a bit down on what they were hoping for, but still a great crowd,” Cr O’Connor tells The Courier. “The type of crowd was a bit different too – they did a straw-poll and the vast majority said they were at Rainbow for the first time.”
The reduced number of revellers was perhaps due to concerns about the festival getting the green light in the days leading up to the event.
A view shared by local newsagent Jim Cox, who tells ABC News that the lower numbers in town could be due to the doubts over the festival going ahead. Mr Cox says that though visitors to the town markedly smaller, there were “plenty of people around [town] and people are really enjoying themselves,” calling the Rainbow Serpent attendees “very, very well behaved.”
“They go about their business, they come into the shops, they spend their money, buy their goods and they disappear,” says Mr Cox. “Perhaps there’s more stalls out there – there’s a lot more at the festival being provided and people don’t have to come into town or are reliant on the township as much.”“Ecstasy, cannabis, ice and, dare I say, [it was] like a supermarket” – Senior Sergeant Peter McCormick
One such stall service being provided for at Rainbow Serpent was of the narcotic kind, with 7 News reporting that police found a car and caravan stashed with large quantities of illicit drugs at the dance festival, providing “ecstasy, cannabis, ice and, dare I say, [it was] like a supermarket,” says Senior Sergeant Peter McCormick.
Two Melbourne men, a 36-year-old Carlton North resident and a 33-year-old Kew East man, have been charged with trafficking and possession and are due face the Ballarat Magistrates Court in March, and Sergeant McCormick says that police will have a stronger presence on drug control at next year’s festival, “that’ll certainly come under scrutiny for future events.”
The drug culture was in actual fact the catalyst for Rainbow Event’s near cancellation, it was the death of 34-year-old Daniel Buccianti from a drug-related overdose at Rainbow Serpent 2012 that led to the change in Fire, Medical, and emergency services for the festival’s 2013 iteration, with local providers dropping out and leaving local council unsatisfied with initially approving the requisite permits to festival organisers.
Green Ant Productions had also made amends with Mr Buccianti’s mother, Adriana, who gave an opening speech to the 13,000 strong festival goers about the importance of staying safe and avoiding a repetition of her son’s own tragedy.
Pyrenees Mayor O’ Connor said he was aware of the arrests, and also of four people transported to hospital, including one for substance-related issues.
“It was sad to hear that at least one person was affected by drugs,” he said. “But the police have told us they were happy with the crowd’s behaviour overall.”
