You ever get news that you subconsciously know is coming but don't want to admit the reality of until it's completely undeniable?
It's with incredible sadness that we have to inform you that this Questival will likely be the last.
And not just Questival, but potentially the last CultureJam event at all.
If you havne't been to one yet, Questival is all the fun of an acid trip at a music festival without having to actually take drugs or worry about future flashbacks. Hidden stories, secret connections, small seemingly random items of the greatest importance, and weird creatures all stalking your night as music pounds away.
CultureJam puts on numerous amazing events frankly. We've promoted as many as we can. Our staff are regular attendees and NPCs. There's something genuinely magical about mixing the unreality of a music festival with the unreality of a live action game, and no one in Australia does it better than the CultureJam guys, but the economic model has never really stacked up.
Between what we know of the costs of running these things versus their ticket pricing and crowd sizes we've assumed that they were running by the skin of the teeth and a lot of good will on behalf of their own community providing free resources and services to make it happen. With this news we now know that it was sadly running at a financial loss.
Due to a climate that is beyond challenging for medium-sized events to be sustainable, we will be making Questival our last multi-day event for the foreseeable future, and after will consider what our future looks like. We have a full statement below, but want to invite you all for an epic send off before we enter a new-era and end our 15 years of larger scale epic immersive events with a bang.
We know a number of you would look at a $150 one-day / $250 weekend event ticket and think how expensive that is when there's literally 1,000 tickets available, but we can tell you that that kind of money disappears very quickly in a modern business setting with insurance and venue easily taking a massive bite from it.
Then there's the stress of pulling a large scale event together. There's a reason we don't organise our own festivals and weekender format LARP events directly by OSAS. It's a full time job and rarely has the financial compensation commensurate with that workload.
Here's the full statement from the head honcho:
Hey team, this is Micky the director of Culture Jam.
It’s been such an honour to attract and nurture such a beautiful community of such caring, creative and expressive legends that come together for each of our events.
I’m so grateful for all the creators who build these worlds and all of you awesome humans that go above and beyond in costumes, skits, gifting and joy. In recent years I have felt a deep realisation that the crowd itself has fostered a tangible harm minimisation in the beautiful energy that permeates across each event.
This year’s Town presented a huge challenge and increased costs deeply affected myself and the team. We are so proud of what was created but unfortunately it came at a heavy cost and relations with Licola were stretched, leading to them no longer want to host The Town.
My plan was to throw one last Town later this year as this felt safe and a great way to go out, however this is no longer possible. I will keep my heart open to The Town coming back in the future in a new light, but for now, I need to take a break from the large personal sacrifices and risk that comes with taking on outdoor festivals.
After Questival, Culture Jam is going to take a break and re-assess how it can best operate going forward. I will look at ideas like creating a committee and switching to a Not For Profit, running smaller events, setting up more ongoing creative spaces in the city and doing charity events.
It’s a necessary step for myself and the team to make sure we are not burning out and creating a new model that looks after everyone fairly and sustainably.
I’m grateful for everyone who donated to the fundraiser and this has gone to paying outstanding Town Crew. I’m sorry it has not led to another Town as this was the goal.
I’m hoping all of you come out for one final iteration of Culture Jam as we know it, celebrate our 15 years and conjure that community spirit and success that will put us in the best position for what happens next.
I hold enormous gratitude for being able to facilitate some truly incredible moments over so many years with such a beautiful community. I have so much pride to have created spaces for so many crew and artists to grow, for people to heal, lovers to connect and for a creative magic to be felt and shared amongst so many.Massive love to you all from the bottom of my heart and thanks in advance for your understanding.
So with that said, we urge you to get yourself a Questival Ticket, especially if you've not yet been.
It was truly a LARP experience like no other.