While 2008 could be the year Fairday moves from its home in Russell Square to a larger venue, Fairday 2007 will be remembered by many for the beer tent queues. On previous Fairdays the whole of the event grounds were licensed but, as a result of more stringent enforcement of regulations including the promise of raids as a result of complaints made by members of the public in previous years by the Liquor Licensing, 2007 saw a shift to a divided ground with a fenced off licensed area. While the changed structure enabled all members of the community including youth who were not out to their parents or legal guardians to access the event, the long wait times for entry to the licensed area was a source of discontent for many on the day.
While Mr Cahill admits there were some ‘errors made’ in setting up the licensed area, he said the committee will work to improve next year’s Fairday, in particular to address complaints about the lack of toilets or food in the licensed area.
According to Mr Cahill, over 12,500 people attended the event, prompting Pride to consider shifting the event to a larger venue in 2008 to alleviate some of the problems.
‘All the feedback that people have given us, we are compiling that and taking that on board, and we are looking to improve Fairday to make things better… 99% of the feedback I’ve gotten is that people had a blast and they loved it,’ Mr Cahill told OUTinPerth.
On behalf of Pride Mr Cahill thanked the committee members who assisted, the stallholders for their efforts, the performers for their shows, and the volunteers who donated their time to help out and everyone who attended the day.
