A $100,000 cash surplus from 2024's 'comeback' event has given Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues organisers confidence as they prepare for this year's festival.
The surplus, along with the addition of four new board members, the re-signing of artistic director Serge Carnovale and a streamlining of the event's constitution, were among the items of business at Tuesday's annual general meeting.
Held at The Railyard in Norton Street, the meeting drew about 30 people, with many of them keen to express their appreciation and to compliment the board for last year's successful staging of the event under a new venue-based model.
Last year's resurgent event followed what had been billed as the festival's finale in 2023.
Festival chair Andrew Nunn said it had always been the board's plan to emerge from the 2024 festival with a surplus, and it was pleasing to see the $100,000 total.
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However, he said organisers would still rely on grants, sponsorships and donations as they embarked on planning for this year's event.
"Community generosity was what drove last year's event, so if people are able to jump on board with assistance, it will continue that," he said.
He said the festival's new look was a more self-sustaining model which would help the board build for the future, and locals and visitors could expect a similar event this year to 2024, with some minor tweaks.
"It's great this year to say, 'This is what we need to do', with the knowledge of what happened last year. We don't have to start everything from scratch," he said.
"We are building the festival back up slowly.
"A lot more people have come forward willing to help, and we have a much better idea now of how to utilise this generosity too."
Changes to the festival's constitution are designed to provide a strong governance framework for the future.
"The last constitution was the result of 25 years of different people cutting and pasting; now we've got something that is similar to what other groups operate with," Mr Nunn said.
The re-appointment of Serge Carnovale, who brings a wealth of experience in live music events to the event, has been another confidence-booster for festival organisers.
The founder and owner of Melbourne’s Paris Cat Jazz Club, who has been open in his praise of Wangaratta and the festival, has signed on for a further two years in the artistic director role.
Further, the addition to the board of Emma Christie, James Dunne, Jenny Hart and Rodney Barnett at Tuesday's AGM takes the number of board members to nine.
"They will hit the ground running," Mr Nunn said.
"Emma did PR for us last year, so brings skills in that area, while Jenny and James bring governance experience, which will help strengthen that side of things for us, and they are keen festival people as well; Rod is a lawyer and also brings lots of knowledge to the board.
"Over the next year or two, the focus will be on developing the skills of local people; the festival offers a chance for people to build their experience in areas like event planning and governance, by learning from those people we have involved.
"For instance, Serge runs one of the most successful clubs in Melbourne - one of the most liveable, culturally vibrant cities in the world - and Sarah (Thompson, director) is one of the best fundraisers in Australia. There is a lot to learn from jumping on board."
