Woodford Folk Festival expecting a record 130,000

Pre-festival ticket sales up 15% for this month’s 31st Woodford Folk in Queensland has the festival’s Deputy Director Amanda Jackes expecting a record 130,000 visitors over the six days between December 27 and January 1.

“Last year’s festival was such a magnificent festival; the weather gods were amazing and the program was a great celebration of the 30th anniversary,” she told the Sunshine Coast Daily.

“Since this year’s program was launched, we’ve had tremendous results (in ticket sales). I think people are feeling a bit more comfortable to spend a bit of money at the moment too.”

Last year’s 30th anniversary event, which saw a 8% growth from 2014, set a new audience record with 126,996 and generated $6.15 million at the box office. A new site layout and new venues also expanded capacity.

This year sees the camping area extended and the day-visitor car park moved to accommodate the high demand for camping tickets. Some festival venues have also been moved to other locations.

Other changes have included a freshening up of the festival sign and a new range of merchandise (like the waterproof picnic rugs) designed by artist Sharnee Thorpe from Wandering Folk.

Patrons will enter the site through a 20-metre bamboo installation created by three Indonesian craftsmen and a team of Australian architectural students and volunteers.

This year, Woodford is introducing reusable cups to be used instead of standard plastic cups. This is anticipated to reduce the plastic waste of approximately 270,000 disposable cups used throughout the duration of the festival.

The site will have 66 food venues, with a special emphasis on local producers, and five specialty bars. “A lot of love and effort goes into selecting food vendors who will reflect the quality of the festival and our dedication to its patrons,” said Jackes.

Woodford Folk tends to come up with surprises especially in regard to unexpected artist collaborations.

One of last year’s highlights was British folk rock singer Passenger, who attended as a patron each day. On December 30, he asked organisers if they could “squeeze him in” among the scheduled artist set times so he could do a couple of songs. The festival didn’t announce until 10pm on New Year’s night that he was playing 30 minutes later. 600 people squeezed into Bill’s Bar, and Passenger’s “couple of songs” extended into a highly acclaimed one-hour set.