Fairbridge Festival
Encyclopedia
Fairbridge Festival of World and Folk Music is Western Australia’s most popular family camping festival which takes place annually in April. It is a friendly celebration of folk, roots, blues, acoustic, celtic, a capella and world music in a traffic-free, self-contained bushland site at Fairbridge Village, South West Highway, 5 km north of Pinjarra, Western Australia.
This year, 2012, will be the 20th Fairbridge Festival and all the signs are that the momentum and enthusiasm continues to grow. The scene is set for another great weekend of joyous music making. As well as a growing number of top international, interstate and home grown artists there are the youth and children’s festivals, numerous workshops, street theatre, a vibrant markets area, poetry and much much more to enjoy.
Fairbridge Village makes a wonderful festival site, with graceful, mature bush and sweeping views over the Darling Escarpment about 100 km south of Perth’s outlying south-eastern suburbs. Over the weekend the site comes alive with music in numerous marquees and permanent buildings, and in the church which is the home for a now-legendary Sunday morning Gospel session and a plethora of a cappella singing in its natural habitat.
The whole area of the festival is slightly smaller than that of the National at Exhibition Park in Canberra, making for a relaxed, spacious environment that never seems overcrowded even with peak crowds of around 5000 people.
Credit for starting the festival belongs to Max Klubal and Sally Grice back in 1992. At the time they were committee members for the WA Folk Federation, which was running a long-standing festival in the attractive country town of Toodyay, about 100km north east of Perth. Max and Sally recognised the potential of the site, and with the benefit of persistence and persuasiveness convinced the WAFF to give it a go. A partnership with the organisation Parents for Music was formed to run the festival, with the intention of making it a more family-orientated event than Toodyay. The first festival happened on Mothers Day, May 1993.
The two festivals continued in parallel for two years but eventually Toodyay ran out of steam and closed down, and in 1996 Fairbridge Festival broke away from the WAFF to its present status as an incorporated not-for-profit association. Since incorporation it has stayed true to the original vision of catering to a family audience, and presents probably the largest children’s program, in proportion to the festival as a whole, of any such event in the country.
The festival is now established as a major event on the WA cultural calendar with a devoted audience base, a strong pool of volunteers, and a remarkably stable organising committee led by president Carole Winfield. Its reputation has spread to the point where each year it receives well over 500 applications from acts wanting to play, many of them from interstate.
The success of the festival is an inspiring example of what can be done from the grass roots, at the far-off, sparsely populated end of the country, by a small group of people dedicated to the love of folk music and community events.
, a combination of orphanage
, farm school and Imperial social engineering project set up as part of a colonial vision by Kingsley Fairbridge
in 1912. The school was founded with the mission of taking deprived children from the orphanages (such as Dr. Barnardo’s Homes
) and streets of Britain and giving them a healthy life in the Colonies, (while ensuring that the Colonies continued to be populated with sound Anglo-Saxon stock, as was the prevailing ethos of the time), the school functioned until the early 1960s.
Tinpan Orange
were accompanied by Harry Angus
of The Cat Empire
, who features on their album.
The announced performers as of January 2007 include:
This year, 2012, will be the 20th Fairbridge Festival and all the signs are that the momentum and enthusiasm continues to grow. The scene is set for another great weekend of joyous music making. As well as a growing number of top international, interstate and home grown artists there are the youth and children’s festivals, numerous workshops, street theatre, a vibrant markets area, poetry and much much more to enjoy.
Fairbridge Village makes a wonderful festival site, with graceful, mature bush and sweeping views over the Darling Escarpment about 100 km south of Perth’s outlying south-eastern suburbs. Over the weekend the site comes alive with music in numerous marquees and permanent buildings, and in the church which is the home for a now-legendary Sunday morning Gospel session and a plethora of a cappella singing in its natural habitat.
The whole area of the festival is slightly smaller than that of the National at Exhibition Park in Canberra, making for a relaxed, spacious environment that never seems overcrowded even with peak crowds of around 5000 people.
Credit for starting the festival belongs to Max Klubal and Sally Grice back in 1992. At the time they were committee members for the WA Folk Federation, which was running a long-standing festival in the attractive country town of Toodyay, about 100km north east of Perth. Max and Sally recognised the potential of the site, and with the benefit of persistence and persuasiveness convinced the WAFF to give it a go. A partnership with the organisation Parents for Music was formed to run the festival, with the intention of making it a more family-orientated event than Toodyay. The first festival happened on Mothers Day, May 1993.
The two festivals continued in parallel for two years but eventually Toodyay ran out of steam and closed down, and in 1996 Fairbridge Festival broke away from the WAFF to its present status as an incorporated not-for-profit association. Since incorporation it has stayed true to the original vision of catering to a family audience, and presents probably the largest children’s program, in proportion to the festival as a whole, of any such event in the country.
The festival is now established as a major event on the WA cultural calendar with a devoted audience base, a strong pool of volunteers, and a remarkably stable organising committee led by president Carole Winfield. Its reputation has spread to the point where each year it receives well over 500 applications from acts wanting to play, many of them from interstate.
The success of the festival is an inspiring example of what can be done from the grass roots, at the far-off, sparsely populated end of the country, by a small group of people dedicated to the love of folk music and community events.
Site
The festival site was originally Fairbridge SchoolFairbridge, Western Australia
Fairbridge, Western Australia is a former farm school and locality near Pinjarra in south west Western Australia.-Kingsley Fairbridge:On 15 April 1912, Kingsley and Ruby Fairbridge arrived in Albany, Western Australia, from England and made their way to Pinjarra, arriving on 16 July that same year...
, a combination of orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
, farm school and Imperial social engineering project set up as part of a colonial vision by Kingsley Fairbridge
Kingsley Fairbridge
Kingsley Ogilvie Fairbridge was the founder of a child emigration scheme to British colonies and the Fairbridge Schools...
in 1912. The school was founded with the mission of taking deprived children from the orphanages (such as Dr. Barnardo’s Homes
Barnardo's
Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
) and streets of Britain and giving them a healthy life in the Colonies, (while ensuring that the Colonies continued to be populated with sound Anglo-Saxon stock, as was the prevailing ethos of the time), the school functioned until the early 1960s.
Fairbridge Festival 2008
The 2008 festival was held from 24 - 27 April 2008, taking advantage of the ANZAC day long weekend. The acts included:
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Tinpan Orange Tinpan Orange are a roots/indie band from Melbourne, Australia.Their debut album, Aroona Palace features Harry Angus and Ollie McGill of The Cat Empire. Their second album, Death, Love & Buildings features Renee Geyer. Harry Angus often accompanies the band in live shows, playing trumpet and keyboard... (Vic) Judy Small Judy Small is an Australian entertainer, folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Known for her feminist, often patriotic, and political songs, usually following a traditional theme, she has produced twelve albums, hundreds of songs and has been described as being among the most popular political... (Vic) |
Tinpan Orange
Tinpan Orange
Tinpan Orange are a roots/indie band from Melbourne, Australia.Their debut album, Aroona Palace features Harry Angus and Ollie McGill of The Cat Empire. Their second album, Death, Love & Buildings features Renee Geyer. Harry Angus often accompanies the band in live shows, playing trumpet and keyboard...
were accompanied by Harry Angus
Harry James Angus
Harry James Angus is an Australian singer-songwriter, trumpet player and guitarist. He is one of the lead vocalists in the Melbourne band The Cat Empire along with Felix Riebl. He joined the group in early 2000...
of The Cat Empire
The Cat Empire
The Cat Empire are an Australian ska and jazz band formed in 1999. Core members are Harry James Angus , Will Hull-Brown , Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala , Ollie McGill , Ryan Monro and Felix Riebl...
, who features on their album.
Fairbridge Festival 2007
The 2007 festival was held from the 13 – 15 April 2007.The announced performers as of January 2007 include:
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Bernard Carney Bernard Carney is an all-round Australian musician in the tradition of the folk troubadour. He is a songwriter, guitarist and singer, and his songs are peppered with passion and humor. His CDs include "West", "Feathers and tributes", and "No time like the future". Carney was the main guest at the... |
Mike and Michelle Jackson Mike and Michelle Jackson were an Australian multi-instrumental duo principally known as children's entertainers. Between 1979 and 1986, the pair featured in a national TV Show , created ten albums , produced three songbooks and they teamed up with Western Australian author/storyteller Kel Watkins... |