A BEAUFORT publican has come out in support of the Rainbow Serpent Festival, saying an end to the event would spell disaster for the town’s businesses. Beaufort Hotel publican Debbie Titherington said in the three festivals she had seen there had never been a problem from any of the patrons. “For a festival like that to close down, it would be detrimental to a town like Beaufort,” Ms Titherington said. “A lot of the businesses wouldn’t survive through winter if it weren’t for the festival.”Festival-goer Daniel Buccianti, 34, died in the early hours of Sunday morning in Beaufort. The Melbourne man had called his mother, Adriana, hours before to tell her he was not feeling well after taking some “bad acid”.His mother has called for the festival to be shut down. Ms Buccianti said she held festival organisers responsible for allowing drugs at the event. Rainbow Serpent Festival director Frank Venuto would not comment on whether the event was attracting the wrong kind of people.However, he said the organisers discouraged patrons from engaging in any activity that may put themselves or others at risk. “Cars are searched by security as they enter the property and any prohibited items are confiscated,” Mr Venuto said. “Highly trained first aid and medical professionals are on duty throughout the festival.” Mr Venuto said the organisers worked together with police and other authorities to ensure that the environment at the festival was as safe as possible. The state government would not comment whether it would consider shutting down the festival, saying it would wait for advice from the coroner. A Pyrenees Shire Council spokeswoman said the festival was not detrimental to the reputation of the town.“It is strongly supported by the community,” she said. “Council has been engaged with the festival organisers over the last 13 years and together with all of the emergency service agencies have provided extensive guidelines and requirements for them to meet.”