It’s a washout: heavy rain ends beloved Byron festival
Savannah Meacham |
A beloved writers’ festival has been cancelled, with hundreds who travelled from interstate for the event left hanging as torrential rain buckets the east coast.
Wet weather left thick mud and rivulets of water running through the parklands, leading to the cancellation of the Byron Writers Festival.
Linda Brucesmith travelled from Brisbane to Bangalow for the festival and said torrential rain on Friday drowned out some of the speakers.
“The grounds were saturated and the mud was incredibly slippery,” she told AAP.
“I grabbed at a wall at one point, to stop from falling.
“A car bogged on the way to the parking field and the rain on the marquees was so loud at times it was hard to hear the speakers.”
Josh Bassett arrived yesterday and was met with muddy grounds but things only got worse when a torrential storm hit while his wife was on stage.
The ovals began to flood and one of the marquees lost power, causing an evacuation.
“Everyone had their feet up on chairs because there was two inches of water in the tent,” he told AAP.
“There was an electrical smell, and we all sat there nervously as the water rose around us.”
Festival organisers notified attendees on Friday night that the “difficult decision” had been made to cancel the event due to the ongoing rain.
“This is a deeply regrettable but necessary decision,” artistic director Jessica Alice said.
“Though we had a wonderful but wet first day, now the safety of our community is our highest priority.”
Ms Brucesmith was disappointed the festival had been cancelled but believed it was the right call due to the conditions.
She plans to stay in Bangalow for the rest of the weekend despite the cancellation.
The Bureau of Meteorology had warned there would be rain throughout Saturday from NSW’s Wollongong north to Coolangatta in Queensland.
“Modest rainfall totals between five and 20mm but that annoying pattern of weather where it might rain for 15 or 30 minutes, dry up for an hour, then that rain comes through again,” meteorologist Angus Hines said.
There had been about 40mm of rain in 24 hours around the Byron Bay area, the bureau said.
The Hervey Bay Whale Festival in southern Queensland was also cancelled this weekend due to the forecast wet weather.
The conditions are expected to continue along the NSW coast, with Sydney forecast to receive 15mm of rain on Sunday, ensuring a soggy run for City to Surf participants.
More than 90,000 people might need to wear rain jackets and prepare for soaked feet as they run the 14km from the city’s CBD to Bondi.
AAP
