ABSTRACT
This chapter covers the notion of the encounter and discusses how this may be considered in relation to festivals. Fincher and Iveson (2008) argue that the encounter facilitates a ‘social differentiation without exclusion’ where ‘unscripted encounters’ offer opportunities to experience the diversity of communities. Many local governments seek to lessen potentially divisive responses to difference and demonstrate a commitment to creating a welcoming, inclusive and accessible community, often through the creation and staging of community festivals. However, there is more to understanding the way that festivals can affect community relations than simply noting that festivals bring people together in an unscripted encounter. This chapter argues that festivals must be carefully planned in order to create the right atmosphere, to provide both formal and informal activities and, thus, to allow participants to share the status of participant.
