MY JOURNEY TO LOVEFEST AND BEYOND - Part 7

In April of 2017 I had the mission of creating my first ever festival called Lovefest. So I decided that I needed advisors and the 2 people I went to were Lou who was running The Rhythm Hut and had organised countless events before as well as Emma who had also created many events. Lou recommended we invite Dubarray to play which can help bring people, and Emma designed the logo, she gave it to me as a gift to get started. It was perfect and timeless.

I didn’t have any funds to pay for anything at the time, I was house sitting because I was unable to afford rent. Work was almost non-existent and I had no Centrelink payment. So I told everyone the vision, I asked for support, and everyone agreed to be paid after the event from the funds that come through the tickets. I spent countless hours on the event, learning how to bring it together and especially on marketing. I didn’t realise how difficult it would be to just sell one ticket worth $45.

It was at a point where there was just a couple of weeks to go and tickets were still moving very slow. I was house sitting at Long Jetty and remember feeling so afraid with so much anxiety because It seemed that we were not going to sell enough tickets to break even. Also meaning I don’t get paid. Many parts seemed out of place. It seemed that the event will fail and I won’t have enough funds to pay everyone. I felt very uncomfortable and so afraid, I needed to move, I was breathing heavily and then started running down the street, I ran all the way to the end of the jetty. It was very peaceful there and serene, the sunset was spectacular with a reflection of the sky in the glacial water. I gave myself the space to feel the emotions. I kept breathing and just allowed myself to feel. I felt lost, I felt alone and I felt fear, I felt like I wasnt good enough, I felt terrified. I allowed myself to feel my fears completely. Breathing and being present with myself. I asked my heart and the water “What do I do?” “How can my heart lead me?” As I continued to breathe. The answer was simple “Keep going and trust”

I co-created the journey with Leandro and Hayley. Dubarray came down from Sunshine Coast as our leading band. I had the support from community and facilitators and after putting in 3 months of solid effort, about 60 hours a week of my time. We had 210 people attend, I paid myself about $750, and we raised about $1000 for Coast Shelter from ticket sales to help local people in need. The feedback was great and it was the beginning of a new era. September 2nd 2017 which was 9 months after we began Central Coast Conscious Community.

A friend of mine came up to me during the event with her arms around me and said to me “Look what you did, look what we did”. I had so many tears of Joy. Even though the work to get here felt so hard and so much, I knew there would be more Lovefests to come.

To be continued