Ramadan Campbelltown: Council warns festival may not return amid event funding cloud

A second southwest Sydney Ramadan festival is facing an uncertain fate, with a major funding shortfall threatening the event’s future as councils across the city warn of rising costs.

A second southwest Sydney Ramadan festival is facing an uncertain fate, with a major funding shortfall threatening the future of a popular Campbelltown event.

Restaurant and food stall owners have called for the community to save the Ramadan On Q festival, which has been staged by Campbelltown City Council with funding support from the NSW Government.

The festival – held in March – has drawn huge crowds to Campbelltown’s main shopping strip since the event’s launch two years ago.

Many local restaurants and businesses benefit from the event, during which the town centre is transformed by street stalls, food trucks and cultural events.

The council, however, has warned the festival may not return next year due to “limited funding options available” currently available from the state government.

The event draws huge crowds to Campbelltown.

The budget shortfall comes as Sydney’s largest Ramadan street – Lakemba Nights – is also facing major challenges due to the significant rise in running costs involved with staging the event.

Other councils have also warned of increasing overheads associated with hosting large festivals, including Canada Bay Council which relies on grant funding to host the annual Ferragosto Italian festival in Five Dock.

In Campbelltown, the state government had chipped in $300,000 for each of the last two Ramadan On Q events, while the council contributed a further $75,000 as well as in-kind contributions.

However, the council says the only funding currently available for next year’s event is the Multicultural NSW Festivals and Events Grant, which offers up to $20,000 in grant funding.

The event includes street stalls.

The council is now seeking to potentially identify a local community group or association that could lead to the delivery of “a similar Ramadan-style event”.

Restaurants including Kebabs & Pizza on Queen have called for the council to keep the event afloat, saying it provides a major cash injection for the local economy.

Afghan Royal’s Sayed Hussainizada said he would be dismayed if the event failed to return.

A photo of a previous event.

“It brings a lot of people together and really brings Campbelltown alive,” he said.

“It also creates a lot of exposure for businesses and restaurants.

“The government should help pay for it because it opens up a lot of opportunities.”

It is understood the grant program which helped deliver the festival over the last two years is currently under review by the NSW Government as part of broader assessments of the state’s grant programs.

The event is staged by Campbelltown Council.

NSW Multiculturalism Minister Steve Kamper insisted no funding for the event had been “cut”.

Instead, Mr Kamper said in a statement applications for a revised grant program were expected to open in October.

He said these would deliver funding for council events, while also “taking into consideration any recommendations from the evaluation currently underway”.

”No decision has been made in relation to successful grant recipients, as the program has not opened for applications yet,” he added.

A council spokesman said the “council is awaiting further details about the next round of the Stronger Together Major Festival Local Council Grants program and will consider applying when funding applications open”.

If the council holds the event without external funding, it is understood the estimated cost of the festival could tally up to $180,000.

Campbelltown deputy mayor Masud Khalil used a recent council meeting to make an impassioned plea for the council to keep the event going.

“It’s one of the top most popular events in Campbelltown, so I don’t know why the event does not have sufficient support from the council – is it Islamophobia, is it people not liking it?” he said at the meeting.

“It has more than 35,000 people (coming to the event) and integrates the community.

“I’m really, really upset.”

Campbelltown councillor Riley Munro said the event helped boost the region’s night-time economy.

“Like all councils, we’re in a position of having to do more with less and, without funding support from the state government, it puts us in a difficult situation,” he said.

“The feedback we’ve had from businesses and the community is they love the event and people wanted it for more than two nights.”