By Ann Marie Angebrandt
HALLELUJAH, brothers and sisters.
Wyndham will soon be host to a gospel music festival that could draw visitors from as far away as America, according to some Wyndham City councillors.
The festival is one of three events to be staged this year aimed at putting Wyndham more firmly on the tourist map.
Wyndham special projects manager Lesley Rogan recommended the gospel music festival for December as part of Werribee Park’s Carols by Candlelight.
A childrens’ festival, dubbed Bees Knees, is scheduled for the September school holidays, inspired by Warrnambool’s Fun4Kids event.
And May will be ‘water-wise’ month, to coincide with the western treatment plant’s open day.
The events will cost about $125,000 to stage, and could draw up to 30,000 participants each, Ms Rogan said in her report.
The three events were chosen after marketing studies and community consultation.
But not all councillors are happy with the choices.
Cr Heather Marcus, herself an event organiser, said she expected researchers Rhumbline Marketing to come up with a single iconic event that had not already been duplicated elsewhere.
“Something like ‘broccoli in the cabbage patch,’ or anything that is unique to Wyndham,” she said.
Ms Rogan said discussions between the organisers of a successful gospel festival in Toowoomba and Carols by Candlelight organisers indicated a gospel event was “likely to be successful” for Wyndham.
Cr Mark Rose said the consulting company knew “what was hot and what was not”.
“We need to try it first,” he said. “Gospel music sells more than pop music worldwide, and it has the potential to bring us visitors from America.”
Cr Bob Fairclough said the water wise event was “ideal”.
“We have the opportunity to turn the waste treatment plant from a liability to an advantage. It’s a topic that’s in the limelight now, especially with global warming,” he said.
Proposed activities for water-wise month include a vegetable expo and a fishing tournament.
