Report dated 20 September from the Acting

REPORT TO COMMUNITY, HOUSING, ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES & PUBLIC
WORKS COMMITTEE
Sizzle Bondi Beach Community Festival 2010 Debrief (A09/0868-03).
Report dated 20 September from the Acting Director, Recreation, Customer and Community
Services about the outcome of the Sizzle Bondi Beach Community Festival event held at
Bondi Beach and surrounds from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 May 2010.
Recommendations: That Council:
1.
Notes this report
2.
Endorses an approach to Rodriguez, organisers of the Sizzle Community Event ,to
determine whether they would be interested in holding more than one Garage Sale Trail
a year and in other areas of Waverley.
3.
Notes that Environmental Services has investigated other recycling and reuse initiatives
to further encourage waste avoidance and reuse in the Waverley LGA in support of
Council’s EAP2 waste targets.
Purpose of Report
The purpose of this report is to advise Council on the evaluation of the Sizzle Bondi Beach
Community Festival organised by Rodriquez, supported by Council and local businesses.
Background / Introduction
Local resident Darryl Nichols from Rodriguez approached Council with a proposal for a Bondi
based community event which had been put together with the help of other local residents.
The event featured a program of activities known as the Sizzle Bondi Beach Community
Festival to celebrate Bondi’s unique beach culture and creative community. Using a range of
communication tools including web pages, social media, posters and print media, the
organisers targeted a wide audience not easily accessible by Council.
At its meeting in February, Council agreed to support the event as follows:
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In-kind support from Bondi and Beaches and other council Divisions;
Waiving of site fees for activities held in public places, and
$3,000 seed funding from within the Bondi and Beaches Divisional budget.
The Environmental Services Division also made a financial contribution to the organisation
and implementation of the “Garage Sale Trail” activity as the event addressed many criteria in
Council’s Environmental Action Plan to achieve waste reduction targets. The event would
also reach a wide and hard-to-reach audience and had great recycling education potential as
well as the potential to engender civic pride and stimulate community engagement.
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REPORT TO COMMUNITY, HOUSING, ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES & PUBLIC
WORKS COMMITTEE
Analysis
Sizzle Bondi Beach Community Festival inspired by art, music, film, surf & beach and design
took place from Thursday 6 May to Sunday 9 May 2010. The festival included a Pop-up
cinema, soft board competition, art exhibition, music night, a community benefit card and a
garage sale trail.
Sponsors of the Sizzle Bondi Beach Community Festival included Waverley Council, the
Beach Road Hotel and the organising company Rodriguez, with other venues, media partners
and community card businesses contributing to costs.
The 4 day Festival comprised six major activities as follows:
Pop‐Up Cinema, Thursday 6 May, Aquabumps Gallery.
The free screening of “Sipping Jetstreams” attracted more than 500 guests.
‘Soft On’ family friendly surf competition, Saturday 8 May.
45 entrants ranging in age from 8 to 56 dressed up in a pirate theme and
participated in the event held at the Northern end of Bondi Beach.
Garage Art Exhibition, Thursday 6 May to Sunday 9 May, Beach Road
Hotel.
62 local artists exhibited a total of 110 art works. 45% of the artworks were
sold with 100% of the monies raised going to the artist.
Garage Nites, Saturday 8 May, Beach Road Hotel.
350 guests attended the event featuring four emerging Australian indie
bands. $10.00 cover charge applied.
Garage Sale Trail, Sunday 9 May
126 garage sales were held throughout the Bondi Basin on the one day.
Wentworth Courier was a major media partner of the event and printed the
garage sale map listing all the sites in support of the event.
Sizzle Community Card
Valid to August 2010, twenty businesses participated and provided “local
benefits” to cardholders. 5000 cards were distributed via participating
businesses and distributed at Sizzle activities.
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REPORT TO COMMUNITY, HOUSING, ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES & PUBLIC
WORKS COMMITTEE
The most beneficial and successful of all the community events organised was the Garage
Sale Trail with an estimated 15 shipping containers of landfill diverted as treasures for new
owners. The event was promoted widely in the community by the local media, posters and
with “Don’t Dump It, Sell it at the Garage Sale Trail” stickers being produced and placed on
dumped rubbish in the weeks running up to the event. The organisers estimated that 10,000
people participated and visited the various garage sales. The organisers have since won a
Green Award for the concept and are planning to organise it nationally in 2011.
The successful outcomes of the Garage Sale Trial were that it:
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Brought the community together in a unique way with many commenting that the
event had given them the opportunity to meet their neighbours
Was used as an educational tool to combat Bondi’s dumping problem
Made recycling and sustainability fun and social
Targeted a traditionally hard to reach audience (travellers, short-term residents, 18
– 35 year olds through the use of social media
Encouraged recycling and responsible disposal of goods
Rodriguez also won a Green Globe Award for best in 'Media Excellence in Sustainability
Communication’ and the Wentworth Courier Business Achiever Award for Community
Contribution of the Year
The day after the event, Council’s Resource Recovery division reported that there was no
evidence of any rubbish from the Garage Sale Trail being left out on the pavements.
The Environmental Services Division has indicated that they would be happy to continue to
support this aspect of the Sizzle Community Festival in 2011.
A youth art activity focussing on the Bondi art wall at Bondi Beach had been proposed for the
2010 Sizzle Community Festival. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the organisers were
unable to arrange this activity in time.
Sizzle and the Garage Sale Trail significantly add to other Council waste reduction programs
such as regular clothes swaps and assists in promoting Second Hand Saturdays and other
reuse events that Environmental Services are looking to hold in the next financial year. They
will be holding the Fixit Fest in November, a swap event in the first half of 2011 and
potentially a street based second hand Saturday next financial year to further encourage
waste avoidance and reuse in the Waverley LGA
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Financial $3,000 seed funding was provided from within the Bondi and Beaches
Divisional budget and $7,000 funding from Environmental Services Divisional budget
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REPORT TO COMMUNITY, HOUSING, ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES & PUBLIC
WORKS COMMITTEE
In kind services provided by a Resource Recovery vehicle on the day after the event to
pick up any dumped rubbish as a result of the previous day’s sales.
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Delivery Program The Garage Sale Trail contributes to delivery of the Environmental
Action Plan’s waste reduction targets
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Consultation Rodriguez presented debriefs at the June Bondi Forum Meeting which
included attendees from local businesses, Precinct Committees and Bondi and Districts
Chamber of Commerce. All parties agreed that the event was professionally presented,
particularly the Garage Sale. Businesses noticed an increase in pedestrians in Bondi on
the Garage Sale Sunday.
Timeframe
No timeframe for the 2011 event has been established, however it is envisaged that if
approved it will take place in April 2011 to coincide with the National Garage Sale Trail event.
Recommendations: That Council:
1.
Notes this report.
2.
Endorses an approach to Rodriquez, organisers of the Sizzle Community Event, to
determine whether they would be interested in holding more than one Garage Sale Trail
a year and in other areas of Waverley.
3.
Notes that Environmental Services has investigated other recycling and reuse
initiatives. to further encourage waste avoidance and reuse in the Waverley LGA in
support of Council’s EAP2 waste targets
Maree Girdler
Acting Director Recreation, Customer and Community Services
Author: Lorna Bussell, Divisional Manager, Bondi and Beaches
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