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THE ALPINE
BRIGHT - POREPUNKAH - MT BEAUTY - TAWONGA - TAWONGA SOUTH Wednesday, January 31, 2024
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AUSTRALIA DAY ROUND-UP
Page 7
AWARD WINNERS: The Mount Beauty Writers Festival committee are ecstatic at receiving the Alpine Shire Council’s Community Event of Year award last week. Pictured from left are Mandy van Gastel, Fay Mason, Michael Ahearn, Kitty Vigo, Rollo Kiek and Scott Sloane. Committee members not pictured are Henry Ziemnicki and Stephanie Bellman.
SAFE RIVER SWIMMING
On the write track Mount Beautyy Writers Festival receives communityy accolade
COULD the committee behind the Mount Beauty Writers Festival be any more qualified? Festival director Fay Mason hosts a book program on Alpine FM, ensuring a raft of contacts for the event, while artistic director Mandy van Gastel has extensive experience organising events with the Albury council. The committee also includes former bank manager Henry Ziemnicki as secretary/ treasurer, bookshop owner Scott Sloane, and Kitty Vigo, who has a PhD in writing. Perhaps that’s why the festival has seen such success, culminating in it receiving the Alpine Shire Council’s Community Event of Year award last Friday after only two festivals in 2022 and 2023. “I don’t know who nominated us, but it shows that people do
BY BRODIE EVERIST beverist@ nemedia.com.au
appreciate it,” Ms Mason said. The October event has already featured names like actor Gary Sweet and ‘Scrublands’ author Chris Hammer in 2022, while last year saw Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis pay a visit. Ms Mason said the festival has drawn people from Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and even Adelaide. “They all book accommodation, they all eat out, so it’s good for the economy of the community,” she said. Ms van Gastel said authors also enjoy the intimacy of the festival, especially compared to larger events. “They really enjoy the
engagement with the other authors,” she said. “I think they go to a lot of these writing festivals in the capital cities and they kind of get lost.” “We don’t particularly want to grow this festival more than the 200 or 150 [attendees] that we get because I think that’s what makes it really special.” According to Ms Mason, the idea for a writers festival emerged from her interviews with authors on Alpine FM, when a publisher suggested they hold an event in the area. Ms Mason thought Mount Beauty had space for such a festival, with so many events in the town based on outdoor activities. Ms van Gastel will soon be taking over as festival director, with Ms Mason taking a background role in the committee. “Mandy is really the person for
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this job,” Ms Mason said. “She stages events like Riverside Vibes, which gets 8000 people; Gardenesque, where she got people like Costa [Georgiadis]. “She has a lot of experience with events and marketing - and she’s my next-door neighbour.” They both said the festival’s success is down to the hard work of their steering committee and event volunteers. They also thanked their sponsors, including the Alpine Shire Council, AGL and Bendigo Bank. Like previous years, the 2024 festival will feature a wide variety of authors. The pair didn’t want to give too much away, but said Chris Hammer and Lee Christine are paying a return visit, and other guests will include celebrity chef Naomi Crisante and Stanley permaculturist Jade Miles.
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