The decision to end the long-running Fun4kids Festival has been met with shock by humanitarian worker Moira Kelly who has been coming to the event for 16 years.
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“What a sad day for Warrnambool, for Victoria really,” Ms Kelly said.
“I’m actually shocked to be honest.”
Ms Kelly was with her daughter Trishna when she read the text message on Tuesday night about the festival’s demise, and immediately broke the news.
“Trishie goes ‘No way mum. No it couldn’t be possibly be finishing’.”
When she explained that not enough people were going to the festival, Trishna’s response was “but we have a big family, we always come”.
Trishna and her sister Krishna were conjoined twins who were brought to Australia from Bangladesh for life-saving surgery in 2009 and have been festival regulars.
Ms Kelly said she and her friend looked forward to coming to the festival every year because “we’re big kids”.
“I just can’t imagine the street without the tents,” she said. “It devastating. It’s a highlight of my year.
“I can’t imagine June and July without the Warrnambool kids’ fest. It just doesn’t click in the imagination of my kids, it’s something we did every year.”
Ms Kelly said Emmanuel and Ahmed, her adopted sons from Iraq, grew up with the festival eventually becoming volunteers.
And even if they were overseas her sons would come back for the festival.
“Emmanuel won the idol competition one year, that was one of his first big singing competitions, and look where he is now – in LA and being mentored by Chris Martin (of Coldplay),” she said.
Ahmed was now at uni in Canberra and this year received a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport for high performance swimming and is training for the next Paralympic games
“I was actually one of their (the festival’s) best PR people. In the winter I’d tell people ‘don’t go to Queensland go to Warrnambool’. It’s just something amazing down there,” she said.
“In the bottom of my tummy I think they’ll go back and do something one day.
“Maybe they’ve got to stop it now but it put Warrnambool on the map for all of us.
“I probably would have never gone to Warrnambool in my life if it wasn’t for the festival, and now I love the district.”
Ms Kelly said she was surprised they didn’t just cut the number of days rather than cancel it altogether.
“Probably some other city might just jump on it and take it which is a shame because it belongs in Warrnambool,” she said.
Ms Kelly said the festival had created so much good will and people had made friends for life through the festival out of service to others.
She said she loved seeing the retired men in the woodwork section giving back to the community and the involvement of students from schools and Tafe.
Ms Kelly said she wanted to thank the Warrnambool community for all the years of love and support.
“The kids festival has brought so many smiles. Our kids have gone through so many horrific journeys and it’s just so sad to think that wonderful childhood experience that they’ll have forever is not there,” she said.