Extreme tropical weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of the 118,500 people that attended the annual Woodford Folk Festival in the Queensland hinterland from 27 December – 2 January 2014.
The monster puppet parade
With 1239 performances by 2286 artists offering 441 acts, the program included Australian artists Clare Bowditch, Darren Hanlon and Blue King Brown, as well as talks from former Australian PM Bob Hawke, Ben Law and Clementine Ford, the festival program ranged across topics of environmental sustainability, left-wing politics, creativity, meditation and nutrition.
The food and beverage focus was on organic and sustainable
Dance, yoga, art and craft and Auslan workshops were complemented by hundreds of street performers, food stalls, markets and alternative therapy practitioners.
For the first time ever, the festival welcomed an international sculptor -Thai artist Wan Wen Chi – who constructed a 100m bamboo installation that provided an entryway to the amphitheatre titled ‘Woven Sky’.
Festival general manager Amanda Jackes said, “We were really pleased with how it went. There was a fiver per cent increase in attendance across both season campers and day visitors and the sense of good will during the festival was great. We did a lot more work with local communities to include schools and families in the opening ceremony this year so we’re really happy with how that went too”.
Sculptures made from natural fibres dotted the site
The Figures:
13.5 = number of kms of hessian fencing
33.2 = number of kms of drink tickets purchased
326.7 = height in metres that all the kegs used at the festival would stand if stacked … taller than the Eiffel Tower!
570 = minutes of organisation that went into the 3 minutes of silence on NY Eve
575 = m2 of corflute (70% recycled) to make 1, 000 signs
1, 800 = number of hand written letters submitted to be delivered by the Lettering House
2,826 = total number of artists who performed or presented at the festival during the week
3, 519 = number of kms of toilet paper – enough to run from Woodford to Melbourne … and back!
5, 266 = number of applications to volunteer at the Festival
20, 800 = number of cable ties used throughout the Festival
113, 904 = number of apples to make all the cider consumed during the festival
7 million = litres of water used
8 million = litres of sewerage treated on site.
The festival is in its 21st year in 2014 and is supported by volunteers and students from all over Australia.
