In Australia, the summer festival season is like that of nowhere else in the world. Scorching sunny days; flowing beer taps; grassy paddocks and a friendly, down-to-earth, anything-goes attitude are some of the hallmarks of the outdoor live music scene down under. Australia offers a plethora of festival experiences, from the World Music extravanganza, WOMADelaide, held every March in Adelaide, to the legendary East Coast Blues and Roots Festival held every Easter weekend in Byron Bay.
One of Australia’s biggest festivals is the Woodford Folk Festival. Every year, in the week leading up to New Year’s Eve, tens of thousands of music fans and hundreds of Australia’s most well-loved live acts, as well as international artists, congregate in Woodford, a charming little town located just west of the Beerburrum State Forest and about one hour’s drive north to north-west of Brisbane.
The story of the Woodford Folk Festival actually starts twenty-four years ago, in the town of Maleny, which is about forty kilometres north of Woodford. Back then, the event was called the Maleny Folk Festival and was held inside the Maleny Showgrounds.
Within eight years, however, the Maleny Showgrounds were simply unable to take the exploding crowds. So, the Queensland Folk Federation, which runs the festival, decided to relocate to Woodford and renamed the event the Woodford Folk Festival.
Since then, it has grown from strength to strength. Now, approximately 130,000 festival-goers make the pilgrimage to Woodford each year. The festival’s home is Woodfordia, a beautiful, forested area, the traditional owners and Custodians of which are people of the Jinibara Nation. The Queensland Folk Federation, a non-profit organisation, manages the land and is constantly improving it as a place for the development, promotion and enjoyment of the arts. They have built an art studio, a workshop, offices, an amphitheatre with the capacity to seat a 25,000-strong audience, toilets and bathrooms, plants for the filtration of water and the treatment of waste, sealed roads, paths and bridges. More than 95,000 plants have been nurtured there.
On top of hosting the Woodford Folk Festival, the land is also home to annual events, The Planting and The Dreaming. In fact, in 2011, The Dreaming, which is Australia’s International Indigenous Festival, will be held during Woodford Folk Festival. It will feature a program of visual arts, theatre, music and discussions pertaining to Australian Indigenous culture.
One of the most famous aspects of the Woodford Folk Festival is its closing ceremony – the Fire Event, which is held on New Year’s Day every year. This amazing show joins the elements of fire, drama, music and dance. In 2000, it was broadcast on international television as part of global celebrations heralding the new millennium.
Some of the big names to have performed at the Woodford Folk Festival include Kate Miller-Heidke, The Cat Empire, Angus and Julia Stone, Pete Murray, The Waifs, Xavier Rudd, the John Butler Trio, Arrested Development and James Morrison. The festival features all kinds of music, from world to folk to blues to jazz.
Jasmine Crittenden - Jasmine Crittenden (B.A.)(Hons.)(First Class) is a writer and editor specialising in music, literature and travel.
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