The Rabbits Eat Lettuce music festival has changed venues just weeks before the event is scheduled to begin. This comes after the festival was denied permission to be held at its original location in the Southern Downs region of Queensland. The five-day Easter event will now move to Crystal Springs, a campground located in Stonelands, approximately 130 kilometers west of Gympie.
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03-25, 2025The South Burnett Regional Council issued a temporary event permit to the organizers on Thursday. Rabbits Eat Lettuce became the first music festival in Queensland to conduct drug testing after the suspected drug overdoses that resulted in the deaths of Ebony Greening and Dassarn Tarbutt at the 2019 event. This measure aims to reduce drug-related risks and ensure the safety of participants.
The future of the music festival had been uncertain after the Southern Downs Regional Council rejected the development application and temporary permit submitted by organizers REL Events to host the event at the intended venue, Cherrabah Resort, located approximately 200 kilometers southwest of Brisbane, near Warwick. Erik Lamir, head of REL Events, stated he was relieved to have found a new venue, anticipating approximately 5,000 attendees for the event running from April 17th to 21st.
Mr. Lamir indicated that this year's drug testing will be operated by Pill Testing Australia. "We saw a significant reduction in drug-related medical presentations last year, and zero ambulance transfers," he said. "It is a proven harm reduction measure and was very successful." He also mentioned that all stages and artists will perform as planned at the new venue, ensuring the festival's excitement remains unaffected.
The Southern Downs Regional Council rejected the development application from REL Events Pty Ltd, which requested permission to hold events for up to 10,000 people for 12 days annually at Cherrabah Resort. The application aimed to allow the company to host multiple events at the venue at different times of the year. Mr. Lamir stated that his company plans to appeal to the Planning and Environment Court so that the event can return to its original venue in the future. The South Burnett Regional Council stated they found no reason not to approve the event at Stonelands this year.
