Matt Johnston has fought a battle of Herculean proportions to keep his dream alive.
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He has taken on local government, faced his opponents, lost thousands of dollars yet still he forged ahead to create one of the Hunter’s most popular music festivals.
But now, after eight years, Mr Johnston may be forced to say goodbye to his beloved Gum Ball.
“It is possible this could be the last Gum Ball. It doesn’t take much for the rug to be pulled out of something like this and we are battling,” Mr Johnston, 29, said.
“We have sold a heap of tickets but we still haven’t covered our costs yet, it’s getting pretty tough.”
Mr Johnston staged the first Gum Ball at his parents’ property at Lower Belford in 2005. Then, in April 2008, the festival was cancelled when Cessnock City Council refused an application for the event, in a decision that left Mr Johnston thousands of dollars out of pocket.
“When council gave us a bit of a hard time we moved out to the vineyards then we decided to give Wollombi a go, but then council stopped that one, so we came back here,” Mr Johnston said.
And despite the financial hardship of the event, Mr Johnston manages to support Beyond Blue, The National Depression Initiative.
“It’s the people that have kept me going year after year. There is no way in the world I would be doing this if it wasn’t for all the people that thrive on this,” he said.
“I’ll never say Gum Ball has been a waste of time and if this is the end then I’ll probably move to another project, but it will be reluctantly, that’s for sure.
“But I really hope it doesn’t come to that because it would be unfortunate for a lot of people. I think I would feel like I was letting people down, but I can only do what I can do.”
n The Gum Ball will be held on Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28. This year’s line-up includes Custard and Ash Grunwald. Visit www.thegumball.com.au