The Mildura Writers Festival was interesting to say the least. Thinking back towards it, I do believe I enjoyed myself. It is a nice town to visit, that is for sure. A nice weekend away trip. However, it did seem that for a country town they had a mix of people that considered themselves high class, and then others low class. For example, I had a discussion with someone who wanted to attend the festival, however one look at the price turned him away. Clearly, working as a cashier he does not earn enough to attend such an event.
Which is a shame, because I feel that it would have added some variance amidst the attendants. It was either students, or elderly people living on their pensions with no care in the world. Yet the other elderly people who did have a care in the world didn’t have the money to attend such an event, even with how much they want to go. My teammate wanted to sneak in her AirBnB host into a panel, just so she could get to experience it herself.
So, there seems to be a huge juxtaposition between the people in Mildura. It is either they are living on a high life, or they are struggling. There may be a few in-between, but that was just from what I could see. Which makes it hard to recommend coming to an event such as this. You get seen by the attendees as a ‘fake’ cause you may look like you don’t have the money or you are a student. Or you get seen as a pompous prick by the non-attendees.
It is an odd feeling, because you feel both extremes. In Melbourne, everyone hates everyone, and even more so if you are in the way, so you don’t feel these extremes cause it is a normal air. Yet out here, it is so apparent it is almost suffocating. As much as I would love to go again, I don’t think I will. That feeling is too much for me.
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