Sometimes we go looking for our purpose and sometimes our purpose finds us.
When Carlina Ericson left her government job, she never imagined she would found and lead Australia's desperately needed festival conference space. Six years later, Ericson reflects on the beginnings of her Australian Festival Industry Conference (AFIC), and outlines the conference's aims.
"It started back in 2019. I'd worked in government for a long time in tourism and major events, and I wanted to do marketing consultancy work for major events.
"I went looking in that space for an industry conference, but I found there wasn't actually a national conference for major events and festivals.
"Conferences catered to a broad range of event management occupations, but there was nothing festival specific. You'd be sitting in a room with professional conference organisers or art gallery curators.
"I didn't feel the whole conference programme would be specifically relevant to me and my business. So I thought maybe this is my calling, as there hadn't been a conference in the festival space for 20 years.
"So I started it off my own bat. I thought, 'I've got the skills and experience and the qualifications and a level of contacts to get it off the ground'; and AFIC was born.
"I launched it in February [2019] and by October we had our first event. The timing was miraculous because less than six months later, COVID hit and decimated the industry.
"It wouldn't have happened if I had delayed it anymore. We subsequently had three postponements over the next two years thanks to COVID."
Carlina Ericson
Off the ground and running, AFIC has grown year on year, bursting with industry heads for its September 2025 event. Ericson explains what delegates can expect from the conference, and areas offering the most value to festival organisers and others in the industry.
"The goals are to act as a central meeting place for people to learn and network. It's the national industry meeting place for people to educate themselves and up-skill on the latest best practice, legislative changes and advancements in technology.
"It also acts as a central meeting place for people to network with colleagues, potential clients and even staff. A lot of people come to AFIC for networking."
On the 2025 agenda is Burning Man's Director of Civic Activation Christopher Breedlove, who will deliver a keynote on the topic of the future of festivals, as well as exploring Burning Man's leave-no-trace policy and other environmental initiatives.
"We've seen a lot of advancements in technology in the sustainability space over the last five years," Ericson comments. "It's constantly evolving. We'll have a panel discussion on that at this year's conference around sustainable energy production and the possibilities around turning those costs into more of a profit margin item rather than an expense.
"There's also a lot of research to point towards sustainability and how festivals can continue to reduce their carbon footprint and their waste overall. Green Music Australia is doing a lot in that space."
Alongside Breedlove's keynote will be an address from Stephen Wray, Director of Music and Director of the Arts at the Office of Arts, who will cover the support available for music festivals and funding opportunities.
Ericson remarks on research indicators regarding current festival viability. "There is a lot of research to suggest that it's not all doom and gloom. Research from Tixel and Eventbrite point towards festivals recovering pretty well post COVID.
"There is scaremongering out there, but the research is actually quite encouraging across the board and festivals are doing a lot better than people realise.
"One of the common complaints from festival organisers is that post COVID there hasn't been as much funding support from all tiers of government as what there should have been. "Not to say that it doesn't exist, but there's a disappointment level. There are still grants out there, things are progressing.
"We'll be speaking about that at the conference, with Stephen Wray updating on the Revive Live Funding Program. There's recommendations from the federal government to look at how that programme can be boosted and progress and evolve in response to the changing needs of the market."
A list extending over 20-speaker showcases, alongside many international and government representatives, those attending in 2025 include Greg Cavanagh (CEO of Gympie Music Muster), Charlie Cush (CEO of Brisbane Festival), Peter Noble (Director of Bluesfest), Sam Pearce (COO of Pacific Air Show and Co-Founder of Crafted Beer Festival), and Louise Bezzina (Artistic Director of Brisbane Festival), ensuring a diverse range of industry experts have their say.
Ericson has spent years crafting the interwoven community aspects of AFIC, and continues to prioritise that for attendees. "Major event festival research points to the reason people go and consume festivals is because of the sense of community.
"As a festival organiser, you feel that at an organisational level through the dozens upon dozens of people that you coordinate through your volunteers and your supplier network. That's the beauty of the industry that we work in, and I feel that with AFIC too, we've created a loyal and solid community.
"You see that enthusiasm on people's faces when they arrive at AFIC. We create a welcoming environment for people so they feel relaxed and more likely to chat to one another. It's a big focus for us to create a strong sense of community."
At the forefront of the industry, Ericson catches trends early. She remarks on the changing landscape of festivals. "There's always new festivals popping up, for example, Harvest Moon on Nimboida campground.
"There's festivals popping up all the time, which is encouraging. It's always encouraging to see new festivals popping up, and there's government support available, especially across NSW and Queensland, that helps festivals get off the ground.
"On the flip-side, we've got longer standing festivals that have decided it's not worthwhile continuing, like Splendour and Falls. The music festivals sticking around and doing well are focusing on single-genre line-ups as opposed to multi-genre line-ups. There's research that points towards that too.
"The true test of their strength is proven over time as to whether they're doing that in response to demand and a gap in the market. I believe another multi-genre, multi-day festival will pop up out of nowhere and, for whatever reason, it will be successful.
"I think things go in cycles. Even the genres of music that are popular over the eons, at first it was rock, then electronica and now it's country. I'm sure it'll circle back to rock again in the next decade."
With years of experience under her belt, Ericson shares her advice for festival organisers looking forward. "Just keep going. Be open to learning and adapting to change; and remain optimistic and enthusiastic. Don't give up.
"That's the beauty of the conference as well, it gives people all of those things. The learning and the research and the tools and the tips to be able to respond to the changing environment, whether it's demographics or tech. If you're open to learning and you're passionate to see your event succeed, then keep going."
The Australian Festival Industry Conference is one of Asia Pacific's leading industry marketplaces for festival management personnel who deliver quality music, arts and culture, food and drink, ideas and sporting festivals. The 2025 event takes place in Brisbane on 8-9 September.
