FRUSTRATED festival organisers are fed up with "battling along" on their own, while hundreds of thousands of dollars is awarded to other shires.
Festivals in the shire last week missed out on nearly half a million dollars in grants handed out by the Federal Government.
Twenty-seven community festivals around Australia received funding, including seven festivals in Victoria.
Festival organisers say they are tired of applying for grant after grant only to be continually knocked back by government at all levels.
This year the Swiss Italian Festa committee made nine funding applications. It ended up with $15,000, but most of this was granted after the start of the festival.
Forestry Fiesta organisers were less fortunate and were knocked back on every grant application they made.
Swiss Italian Festa committee president Rob McDonald said applying for and searching for grants fell to the volunteers and without an established bureaucracy to search them out it was very hard for festivals to gain any funds.
He said the onus was on the shire to take the initiative.
He said he had spoken to the council in the past about whether it could provide a "grant gopher" to help with submissions - but so far help had not come.
"We virtually live off grants," he said.
"The grants are out there but you've got to search for them and you've got to apply. The best submission writers get the dough."
Mayor Bill McClenaghan said the council was "obviously keen" to support festivals where it could by direct allocation of funds through grants and by assisting in applications for funding from other sources.
"Offices in our Community Strengthening Unit already assist many community event organisers and other community groups identify suitable grant programs and in the development of grant applications," he said.
But Creswick Forestry Fiesta 2009 funding co-ordinator Russell Castley said the fiesta was knocked back after applying for one of the council's own grants, as the decision on the grant was made after the fiesta was held.
"It is the biggest festival in Creswick. It's disappointing when you can't get $2000," he said.
Mr Castley said not receiving funding had been the difference between making a profit and making a loss at this year's event.
"Luckily we had some funds in the account so we could meet the loss," he said.
He said at all levels of government there was a lack of support for family events.
"When you've got bureaucrats in Canberra making decisions on funding family events in places like Creswick, you're not going to get it," he said.
"Festivals Australia should be funding family events as well as strange, way-out events."
Email a friend