ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of rural in-migration in community development and planning in rural and regional places, where the festival model is used to activate opportunities for economic development or regeneration as well as enhance social connectedness through activities that often draw on local culture and history. Yet, such arts festivals are also potentially divisive because of the social changes wrought by in-migration populations and their associated networks. Drawing on the concept of social capital, this chapter examines the role of class encounter through the new mobilities paradigm in order to unpack the complex networks of mobile capital and their reshaping of rural places. Our case study is the Clunes Booktown Festival, held annually in the Goldfields region of Victoria since 2007 and established specifically to address concerns about social inclusion, renewal and sustainability. However, in seeking to address these concerns, the festival has encountered challenges concerning the identity of this community and who belongs.
