Northern Tasmania’s regional events have experienced some dizzying heights.
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The recent triple J One Night Stand at St Helens was hailed a great success by stakeholders, with about 30,000 people filing into the region from intra and interstate.
North East Tasmania has also been in the limelight in the past couple of years, with Derby hosting the World Enduro Series in 2017.
The event was so well received by spectators and competitors that it will be held in the region for a second time in 2019.
But this week, it hit a low point, when the organisers of the North East Rivers Festival, home of the famous Derby River Derby, will put the festival on hiatus until next year.
Festival organisers have pointed to an issue that has plagued a number of events both large and small – a lack of volunteers – as the reason for the festival’s hiatus.
Last year, the North East Rivers Festival ran on a skeleton committee of only three people, according to North East Rivers Festival president Maxine Mullins.
The Derby River Derby has been held in the region for the past 40 years and was the reason the festival came to be. It has been a hallmark event for the region for four decades.
Volunteering shortages are being experienced across a number of sectors and spreads to all facets of society, from sporting clubs, to not-for-profit or community organisations.
However, if people fail to volunteer, to support regional events, like the North East Rivers Festival, then a lot of Tasmania’s smaller regions will lose part of their charm.
If the One Night Stand and the World Enduro Series has proven anything, it’s that regional areas can host world-class events.
The Derby River Derby and the wider North East Rivers Festival is a hallmark tradition for the region – it would be a shame to see it dissolve due to lack of support.
Understandably, financial support is also very important to these types of events.
But if the only thing you can give is time, we all need to find a way to give back to our communities.