ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the changing nature of rural places – in particular, on the rural-urban fringe. It discusses the difficulties and tensions that may arise due to contested notions of place in these newly created suburbs. Taking the Yakkerboo Festival, in Victoria, Australia, as a case study, the chapter examines whether this festival is keeping pace with the changing demographics and nature of Melbourne’s growth corridor. The chapter also considers the range of potential reasons for festival failure, identifying in particular concerns about the representativeness of organising committees, the limited resources available to volunteer committees and a lack of succession planning. The chapter concludes with a discussion of whether these demographic changes and organisational issues mean that the future of the festival is in doubt.
