Rain, low tide and an icy wind didn't deter a dozen teams taking part in this year's Birdman jump in Russell
The future of Northland's biggest and arguably most colourful mid-winter festival is in doubt due to a combination of volunteer fatigue and lost funding.
Russell's Birdman Festival was founded in 2007 by a handful of locals keen to inject some life into the Bay of Islands' quiet winter months.
It was a success from the start, drawing thousands of people for up to three days of family fun and giving businesses a much-needed off-season boost.
While the event's centrepiece has always been the Birdman jump — in which contestants leap from the end of the wharf in elaborate costumes or flying machines — over the years it expanded to a multi-day festival which included drag races (the type that involves cross-dressing, not fast cars), cooking and eating contests, boat races, entertainers and more.
Thousands watch from the Russell waterfront as Laura Stevenson takes flight during the 2017 Birdman Festival. Photo / Peter de Graaf
But of the original group of organisers only Pania Sigley is left. Like the other core volunteer, Viv Campbell, she has a full-time job and other commitments, and is keen to hand on the baton.
They have called a meeting at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel at 6.30 this evening to discuss Birdman's future.
''I want to give the town an opportunity to say, 'Yes, we want to keep it going', and to jump on board,'' Sigley said.
She hoped the meeting would prompt some of the new people in town to help out.
Sigley said she had no business interests in Russell but felt an obligation to try to keep the festival going rather than just walk away.
''There's very few events left where everything is free, where families can come along and take part and not get hit in the pocket. The whole town gets involved, it's not just the business community.''
Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai, aka Crazy Old Bird, about to take flight during the 2017 Birdman Festival. Photo / Peter de Graaf
For the first few years the organisers ran the festival ''on an oily rag'' and funded it largely from their own pockets.
But as red tape and expectations had increased, so too had the cost and effort involved.
The event's compliance costs had been covered by the Pelorus Trust, which distributes some of the proceeds from gaming machines, but that source of funding had vanished when the Duke of Marlborough Tavern lost its pokie machines last year.
That left the Far North District Council as the only source of funding. In the 2017/18 year the festival was granted $3185 from the council's Events Investment Fund.
An economic development report commissioned by the council in 2010 put the Birdman Festival's economic benefit to the Far North at $350,000 — and that was when the event was still in its infancy.
Another report, from 2017, found that for every dollar invested by the council Birdman delivered $105.52 in direct economic benefit to the district.
That was by far the highest ratio of any council-supported event.
The next highest, the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza, delivered $27.84 of economic activity for every dollar of council funding.
Thunderbirds are go! Russell GP Ian Birch launches Thunderbird 3 from Russell wharf, a memorable entry from the festival's second year. Photo / Chris Rudsdale
In recent years events company Blah Blah Marketing had been hired to help organise the festival and take the weight off the volunteers, but the loss of funding meant that was no longer possible.
The closure of the Duke of Marlborough Tavern (no relation to the Duke of Marlborough Hotel) has been another blow to the festival.
The tavern sponsored several prizes and hosted the prizegiving, while its staff were enthusiastic participants in both the drag race and the Birdman jump.
However, the tavern closed suddenly on March 27. A post on the tavern's Facebook page said it was closing for a day's break but it has not reopened since. A note pasted on the door said it had been closed by the property owner due to rent arrears.
