One of the problems with the maritime festival is that is has always been run with a "tourist" slant to it rather than a "folky" slant. As such, it has hoped to bring in people from outside the area.
And those people have come.
And they have enjoyed it.
And as "outsiders" they are disenfranchised from getting back at certain council representatives who don't wish to see the festival continue.
The locals, who do have the power, have not had the same targeted encouragement to attend the festival, and many don't even realise that it is on.
In my experience the local musicians and singers are also keen to perfom rather than listen and the format of the festival has always been low on sing-arounds etc.

Hoping that this explanation of how a local perceives the festival will shed light on the situation.