Tasmania's "A Festival Called Panama" has announced that it will be taking a break in 2026. The festival, which has been held in a small venue in northeastern Tasmania since 2014, has become a popular cultural event in the region.
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03-20, 2025In an email to supporters, the festival organizers stated, "Now is the right time for us to take a break and allow the land and valley some time to recover." They also expressed their gratitude to the community and stated that they look forward to exploring ways to better suit the festival's development in the coming years. "This community is very special, and we look forward to finding the right direction for our development in the years to come."
The organizers added in the email: "We appreciate everyone's support. It has been our privilege to host this event. Thank you." It is reported that the recently concluded 2025 festival attracted more than 1,000 music lovers, with the American synth-pop band Magdalena Bay headlining the event.
Many music festivals in Australia have ceased operations or announced long-term hiatuses in recent years, including the Falls Festival in Marion Bay, Tasmania, due to organizers finding it increasingly difficult to break even. Furthermore, organizers also claim that the forest surrounding the festival grounds (which they call "Panama") has been marked as a logging area, and have launched a public campaign to stop the logging plans.
The Tasmanian government has announced plans to allocate up to 40,000 hectares of pristine forest for logging. The government hopes to move these areas from so-called "timber reserves" (or future potential production forests) to a classification that allows for logging in a short period of time. Nevertheless, the exact locations of these forests remain secret, and the government and Sustainable Timber Tasmania have not provided any indication that they are considering logging near the festival site.
The organizers are calling on supporters to raise their voices against the logging of the Panama forest. They believe "we can make this plan too much of a political liability for the government to proceed." The organizers urged in the email: "So, if Panama has ever meant anything to you, we implore you to take the time now to send a few emails to those in power."
