news, local-news, Maitreya Festival, Charlton, Buloke Shire, alternative lifestyle, Maitreya, Wooroonook Lakes

RELATED: UPDATE 11.30am: Buloke Shire Council has cast grave doubts on Maitreya Festival organisers plans to stage a 'replacement' event at Wooroonook Lakes later this year. The council says Maitreya's announcement it was hoping to hold a 'special' event on the weekend of the AFL grand final was news to the local government body. A spokesperson for council indicated the shire was still considering legal action against the promoter of the cancelled festival . "The promoter is currently in breach of numerous enforcement orders and laws and will be prosecuted once council has completed its due diligence on the evidence and costs involved," he said. "Given this state of affairs council could not grant permission to use the land for any event organised by this promoter. "Council has no knowledge of when the promoter will make refunds for tickets he sold to his event that did not even have permits." EARLIER: Organisers of an electronic music and alternative lifestyle festival planned for Charlton earlier this year say they will not be issuing refunds. The four-day Maitreya Festival was scheduled to take place at Wooroonook Lakes over the March long weekend, but was cancelled when a permit needed to operate the event was refused by Buloke Shire Council. About 10,000 people paid between $150 and $300 to attend the festival, which was meant to celebrate its 10th anniversary. But after nearly two months of silence from organisers, they now say they are "unable to make any more refunds for tickets purchased for the 2016 event." The announcement was made on one of the festival's Facebook sites and its Twitter account. It read: "We cant (sic) in any number of words express to you the ins and outs of the rabbit hole that the event ended in this year…. We are very sorry to those who were negatively impacted by the finality, from the patrons, to market stall holders, performers, artists, and the local community of Charlton. There were no winners out of this, and hopefully from this realisation we can move on. "Unfortunately we are unable to make any more refunds for tickets purchased for the 2016 event." The post says organisers now hope to hold an event at Wooroonook Lakes on the weekend of the AFL grand final, exclusive to holders of non-refunded tickets. The statement has been met with scepticism and outright anger from festival followers, with many demanding to know whether organisers have the necessary permits to operate the proposed new event. "Maitreya operated in bad faith and against the spirit of festivals and people who enjoy these kind of festivals," posted one angry fan. With some ticket holders already receiving refunds through their banks for ticket purchased on credit cards, others have questioned how a new festival-type event would be funded. "Dear Maitreya ..Here is an idea ! How about we all just keep our tickets and you actually deliver what we paid for next year 2017 and we all get in with our tickets ..no b******t this time and you might just regain some respect from all the patrons ,market stall holders ,peformers , artist & the Charlton community that you let down ..Grand Final long weekend wont cut it for many people ..," posted one ticket holder. Another said: "Hope you're next event will not happen, its unbelievable to offer a new one without refunding the attendants which can't go in September. Dear Maytreya organisers go back to playing marbles instead of bringing a bad image of psytrance festivals. Another enraged ticket-holder said the festival organisers deserve “every single bit of abuse hurled your way.” “You have charged for an event which due to your own ****-up did not happen. You are legally required to give refunds.” Comment has been sought from Buloke Shire Council The festival was to be third held within Buloke Shire and second at Wooroonook Lakes. It was moved at the last minute to Sea Lake in 2013 after Central Goldfields denied organisers a permit, after finding that the event had been running without the sanction of the council for three years. “Dearest fans and foes alike.. this years ’10th Anniversary Nontreya Festival’ has sadly passed, and now we must look to future, but we are also reminded that, if you want to know tomorrow, look at today, because its yesterdays tomorrow… “We cant in any number of words express to you the ins and outs of the rabbit hole that the event ended in this year…. We are very sorry to those who were negatively impacted by the finality, from the patrons, to market stall holders, performers, artists, and the local community of Charlton. There were no winners out of this, and hopefully from this realisation we can move on. “Unfortunately we are unable to make any more refunds for tickets purchased for the 2016 event. “We plan to hold an event exclusively for ticket holders of Maitreya Festival 2016, on Grand Final Long Weekend, starting 30th September 2016 at Lake Wooroonook. Please hold your tickets or proof of purchase and these will gain you access to the event. We hope this event can go to re building trust within the Maitreya community, and assist the community of Wooroonook and Charlton with extra incomes that they so desperately need. “We cant turn back time and give you back what might have been….but we do hold a deep belief that everything happens for a reason, even if that reason is really hard to understand or uncover in the short term. If we can collectively walk forward with this knowledge, together we can take the time to unravel the lessons that it has for us all, and for this be better individuals in the communities we live. “We hope to continue to inspire you all creatively and emotionally in the future, and thank you for endlessly inspiring us throughout this whole journey, there is still a long way to go….”

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