Woodford Folk Festival

The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music festival held near the small country town of Woodford, 70 km north of Brisbane, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural events in Australia.

The festival takes place over six days and nights from 27 December to 1 January each year. It features a wide range of musical genres and nationalities, in many simultaneous venues across the site. Thousands of patrons camp on-site; some just overnight, many for the full festival experience.

The Woodford Folk Festival originated out of the Maleny Folk Festival which began in 1987. In 1994 it moved to Woodford when it outgrew the Maleny Showgrounds site.

Unlike many festivals which are held in or near urban centres, the Woodford Folk Festival takes place on a large rural property in a forest setting. The land on which the festival is held each year is owned by the Queensland Folk Federation, producers of the festival. The festival site is also home to The Dreaming, Australia’s International Indigenous Festival, which is held annually in June.

The final evening of the festival always culminates in a spectacular New Year's Day closing ceremony "Fire Event".cite web |author=Price, Sally |publisher=thedaily.com.au |date=2007-12-09 |url=http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2007/dec/09/chariots-fire/ |title=Chariots of fire | publisher=Sunshine Coast Daily |accessdate=2008-01-11 |format=html, javascript ] Over 20,000 festival goers seated on a grassed hillside witness a spectacle of dance, music, theatricality and fire - with the burning of a large structure heralding the New Year. The January 2000 Fire Event featured in the global live TV broadcast heralding the new millennium.

In 2005/06 a record aggregate attendance of over 130,000 visitors attended the festival, injecting $21 million into the Queensland economy (Woodford Folk Festival Visitor Survey Report 2005/06).

Performers at recent festivals have included:

2004/2005Fact|date=January 2008: Missy Higgins, The Cat Empire, Doch, Xavier Rudd, The Beautiful Girls, The Waifs, Bomba, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Boat People, Rebecca Wright, Resin Dogs, Butterfingers, Afro Dizzi Act, Jeff Lang Band, Hot Rubber Glove, Pty Ltd, Kooii, Ash Grunwald, and Kafka.

2005/2006Fact|date=January 2008: The Cat Empire, Pete Murray, Doch, Bomba, Kate Miller-Heidke, Jodi Martin, Wild Marmalade, Tribalicious, Tommee and the Neighbourhood, That 1 Guy, Sophie Koh, Circle of Rhythm, Rob Longstaff Band, Mia Dyson, LABJACD, Kafka, Jambezi, Genticorum, Blue King Brown, Afro Dizzi Act, and Ash Grunwald.

2006/2007Fact|date=January 2008: The John Butler Trio, Xavier Rudd, Youth Group, Lior, Angus and Julia Stone, The Herd, The Beautiful Girls, Blue King Brown, Resin Dogs, Tim Freedman, Jeff Lang, The Bird, The Audreys, Ash Grunwald, Kate Miller-Heidke, Jodi Martin, LABJACD, Kooii, Kafka, Leo, That 1 Guy, Hamell on Trial, Waiting For Guinness Umbilical Brothers, The Black Market Rhythm Co. and Tripod. Bobby Flynn also made an uncredited and unexpected appearance and performed.

2007/2008Fact|date=January 2008: The Cat Empire, Angus and Julia Stone, The Waifs, Sarah Blasko, Jackson Jackson, Blue King Brown, Archie Roach, James Morrison, Mia Dyson, Tinpan Orange, The Toothfaeries, Blue Grassy Knoll, Ernie Dingo, Mojo Webb & Band, Women In Docs, The NEO, Worldfly, Babylon Circus, The Black Market Rhythm Co. and many more.

References

Much of the information was sourced from the Queensland Folk Federation, who organise and run the festival each year.

External links

* [http://www.woodfordfolkfestival.com/main/index.php Festival web site]
* [http://peculiarhand.com/pages/fire-event.html Fire Event Artistic Director's web site]