Black Stump Music and Arts Festival

infobox music festival
music_festival_name = Black Stump Music and Arts Festival


caption =
location = flagicon|AUS Sydney, Australia
years_active = 1985 - Current
founders = David Hogg (Australian)
dates = October Long Weekend
genre =
URL = [http://blackstump.org.au Blackstump Website]
website = [http://blackstump.org.au Blackstump Website]

Introduction

The Black Stump Music and Arts Festival(called 'Blackstump' or just 'Stump' for short ) is a four day Christian festival that is held in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan region over the labour day long weekend, often the first weekend in October. [http://www.blackstump.org.au/faq.aspx#S8.]

Features

Although the format of the festival has changed slightly from year to year, there are some constant features including:

Big Top (or Main Stage pre-1994 and also in 2007)- the primary venue used for Saturday morning, Sunday night and Monday Morning Bible Studies, Worship & Music. During the nights it is the venue used for headline and international acts.

Off Broadway - interaction and comedy venue.

The Palladium - theatre and dance venue.

Sacred Space - worship.

The Village - food and service venues and addition performance space.

The Supper Club - small stage for music with cafe style tables and food.

Metro

History

Black Stump has been held annually since 1985 with the exception of three years: 1987, 1995 and 2000.

For most of its existence Black Stump has been held at Cataract Scout Park (now called Sydney Scout Park), Appin NSW, Australia and before that at Cattai.

Early History

The first festival was held to coincide with International Youth Year and was inspired by Pebblebrook in New Zealand and the Greenbelt Festival in the UK. It was organised by individuals from Baptist, Church of Christ, Uniting and Anglican churches as well as other youth orientated Christian organizations.

The first and second festivals were held in 1985 and 1986 at Cattai (at the former Paradise Gardens site).

From 1988 it was then held at Cataract Scout Park until 2007. [BlackStump 2007 Festival programme]

Gap Years

The festival was not held in 1987 in order to plan to make it a regular festival, and to plan the relocation to Cataract Scout Park.

The intended 1995 festival was cancelled due to a significant financial shortfall resulting from the 1994 festival.

The festival was not held in 2000 because the Sydney Olympics ended on the October Long weekend.

Locations, Themes and Contributors

Blackstump 2008

Blackstump 2008 will be held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre in Horsley Park, instead of the traditional Cataract Scout Camp

Notable Artists

Many artists have appeared at Black Stump and then gone onto wide popularity in the Christian or secular world. These include the Newsboys, Rebecca St James, David Butts (Hooley Dooleys), Tim Harding (Hi-5), Sarah Blasko, Butterfly Boucher, Paul Colman and Playjerise.

External links

* [http://blackstump.org.au Black Stump Website]
* [http://flickriver.com/photos/ants88/tags/allmankind All Mankind at Blackstump]

References