The future of Julia Creek's Dirt N Dust festival remains in doubt after a town meeting failed to unearth any new committee members to take the festival forward.
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With an annual general meeting set to wind the festival up in mid August, the race is on to find a new management committee in the next few days.
Julia Creek Dirt N Dust Festival centred around one of the toughest triathlons in Australia has been the centrepiece of events in the region every April for 27 years until it ran into COVID in 2020 and was cancelled again this year due to a shortage of committee members.
At the start of July current president Nathan Laneyrie said they did not get a new committee to run the festival so a special meeting had been called to inform the community to wind up the association.
That meeting held on the weekend attracted 27 people but volunteer with responsibility of winding things up, Margie Ryder, said no one put up their hand to become involved in the festival's management committee though the will was there to continue the festival.
"There's a heap of older people ready to stand behind whoever puts their hand up," Ms Ryder.
"There's plenty of support still in town and the ideas that some people put forward were totally supported."
Ms Ryder said the meeting went through the constitution to make sure they were doing everything right and they also amended the constitution to allow all residents of McKinlay Shire to be a member and they also made a change so people don't have to stay on the committee for more than a year.
"Any members can now apply to be on the committee," she said.
Membership forms will be available this week from all local shops in Julia Creek or via online.
But the clock is ticking with only a week left to form a committee and they need to start formally winding up to be decided at a formal AGM on August 14.
"We met with council on the Friday and we had a very clear message - we don't want to lose the brand," Ms Ryder said.
"The challenge now is to start with a clean slate. This year they ran with the races and a local bull ride and maybe the local community can run a Dirt N Dust run down the creek."
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
