Carnival suffers $100,000 wash-out

BRYONY Taylor is still tallying the financial and emotional cost of the cancellation of the third and last day of the Global Carnival.

The driving force behind one of the region's signature events had assembled one of the festival's best line-ups and everyone who braved the elements to attend was left spellbound by how the Bellingen Showground had been ‘globalised'.

But no amount of planning and preparation could withstand what Mother Nature dished up on Saturday and Sunday.

“By mid morning Sunday, rivulets were running through the campground, the generators were sitting in pools of water, and the forecast was for even more intense rain,” Ms Taylor said yesterday.

“After consulting with the SES and assessing the risks associated with power cables, water and the potential for flooding, we activated our evacuation plan. To the great credit of the carnival's 250 crew and volunteers, the cancellation proceeded in a calm, measured and controlled way.”

Challenges inherent with rain insurance meant the event was not covered for bad weather.

“It was the first time in 13 carnivals we've had to call it off and it looks like we'll be down by around $100,000.”