What’s happening?
RedFest, Redlands Coast’s longest-running community festival, has officially been cancelled for 2025.
The announcement follows months of unresolved discussions between the RedFest committee and Redland City Council.
Why it matters
The festival has served as a cornerstone of Redlands’ cultural identity, offering a space for local performers, businesses, and volunteers to come together in celebration.
Despite drawing more than 15,000 attendees in 2024 and over 60 years of cultural history, organisers say they have faced repeated roadblocks from Council when trying to lock in a September date at the Redland Showgrounds.
RedFest has grown since its return post-COVID, yet organisers say inconsistent Council processes, a lack of date certainty, and unclear policy applications have eroded their ability to plan effectively.
EXCLUSIVE: A conversation with Robyn Keenan, RedFest Organiser
Speaking yesterday with RedFest organiser Robyn Keenan, she described the cancellation as deeply disappointing.
“This should’ve been an incredible Strawberry Festival celebration,” she said. But after three years of talks that fell on deaf ears, it’s clear the support just isn’t there. To be frank, the Council seem confused and disorganised.”
“We asked key questions, but the answers weren’t reassuring,” Keenan added. “It feels like Council is more interested in covering themselves than supporting one of the City’s best community events, and also the volunteers who make this event happen.”
“The main point is that all the dates they put forward simply didn’t match with the end of the strawberry season, which has been the whole point of the festival for the last 60 or so years.”
“This year is unfortunately done and dusted, and I think we just need to call a stop to disagreeing and start focusing on next year and beyond.”
Local Impact
Community reaction has been swift, pointed and somewhat emotional.
On RedFest’s Facebook page, following a recent announcement, many long-time supporters expressed anger and sorrow:
“Disappointing but not surprising,” one commenter said, “For some reason, several councillors and a number of core parks officers always wanted to shut it down.”
“That is just so disappointing. Thank you to your volunteers for the work I am sure they have already done,” added another commenter.
A volunteer from 2024 shared: “Oh, what a shame, I love doing volunteer work like I did in 2024.”
Another community member wrote: “Just another thing to add to the list, and this place is living up to its nickname of the deadlands!!!”
Organisers also noted that local businesses strongly supported the 2024 event when it was held on the second weekend of September, and they are concerned that being pushed back to Father’s Day weekend would harm both the festival and local trade.
“RedFest was always in September — to coincide with the end of the strawberry season!” Keenan said.
“Local businesses hate it when the festival’s held on Father’s Day because it takes away from one of their biggest trading weekends. But Council seems oddly fixated on shifting us to that date.”
By the Numbers
• 15,000+ people attended RedFest in 2024, making it the City’s biggest local event.
• 8 alternate weekends in 2025 were offered by Council — none aligning with RedFest’s required timeframe to coincide with the end of the Strawberry season, as it has almost always been.
Zoom In
Organisers say that after submitting a request in April 2024 to host RedFest on 13–15 September 2025, they learned another event — the Caravan, Camping and Boating Expo — had already booked the grounds 15–23 September, a booking made back in March 2023.
That event’s Monday start date, allowed by the Council, rendered the prior weekends unusable due to the Council’s lengthy venue inspection and handover policy.
Furthermore, the RedFest committee raised concerns about this booking window inconsistency, noting that RedFest was only allowed to book 12 months in advance, yet commercial expos appear to receive more flexible treatment, with the ability to book years in advance.
After the RedFest committee requested a meeting with the Mayor in January, the group finally met on 20 March 2025, but were still waiting for a promised response to other questions.
Zoom Out
Council has since responded in a public statement, explaining they felt they had protected the first weekend of September (6–7 September 2025) for RedFest, its suggested traditional date.
However, the RedFest committee had refuted this by saying that they were advised that September dates were unavailable due to the Council’s event overlap windows.
According to the committee, the Council cited operational requirements, stating:
“To ensure that Council venues are handed over safely and in good order to event organisers, we require at least five days between events.”
Council said it had offered multiple alternatives:
• July: 4–6, 18–20
• August: 15–17, 22–24, 29–31
• September: 5–7
• October: 17–19
• November: 7–9, 14–16, 21–23, 28–30
“Council appreciates and values the community benefits RedFest brings… but respects the right of the committee to cancel,” the statement concluded.
UPDATE: Late yesterday, after the time of writing and speaking with Ms Keenan, a response by Mayor Jos Mitchell was posted to her Facebook page yesterday, April 23.
What to Look For Next?
Organisers remain hopeful the festival may return in future years.“We’ve got our fingers crossed for any week in September moving forward and hopefully everyone can work together to make it happen,” Robyn said.
For now, the city’s iconic celebration is on hold, leaving a big gap in Redlands’ cultural calendar.
As it stands, there will be no RedFest in 2025, and the future of the festival remains uncertain unless everyone involved can start working together.
Thoughts?
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