Looking at putting on a small festival type deal all input welcomed

my girlfriend and i are looking to run a free festivally type thing in adelaide towards the end of the year with latin music, capoeira and fire neither of us have any experience in organising such an event i was wondering if anyone had put on this sort of event before and what sort of issues need to be addressed.

firstly, did the local council permit require public liability insurance for every performer? it's so impossibly silly right now...

i guess the first thing is to make sure it isn't on during a simliar event, like womald, plus make sure Chan's Escola is in it.

Chan is the best! He loves performing at festivals, and we all love watching it!

[ 07. July 2003, 01:10: Message edited by: bender™ ]

i havnt spoken to the council yet im hoping by making it free there might be some loop hole where we dont need it?

for some reason that pic took ages to come up ...... ill definately be sure to make sure chan is there along with the rest of the soul capoeira crew. we want to get as many twirlers along as possible, assuming that its at the end of the year when ppl r on holidays n the like and we can organise some accomidation of sorts here would any twirlers from interstate be interested in coming?

hmmm - what dates? perhaps leave a big phat organisational thread in the events and gatherings sections offering free limos & suchlike
SA fwirlers can hold their own as well though!!

hey ben-ja-men

well, when i lived in melbourne, aus, summer was filled with crazy little bush parties and festivals - merideth, folk-rhythm-life, etc.. but sometimes mates and i would instead head up to a property outside of mansfield, have fun, sit around campfires with drums and guitars and drinks and so forth. over time, we'd have more and more people coming up camping with us that we began to think of actual bands, facilities like porta-potties, generators for pa systems, and how we might be able to fund all this, none of us being high bankrollers.

out of this came m2k (the full title being the 'mansfield free music and marijuana festival of the millennium' or 'mfmmfm' or just 'm2k').

the first year consisted of the usual bunch and a couple more mates of mates, a stage made out of the flat bed of a truck, a couple of amps running off battery power and a band or two. it was pretty minimal, but it was the start.

a few years down the track, we were pre-selling tickets in stores in melbourne, booking decent bands, hiring bloody huge sound systems and trying to avoid dealing with assorted beaurocracy.

to get council approval looked like itd take six months at least, insurance would cost us each of our first born, and then finding secruity.... but officier, its just a private party. and thats what we always called it. a private party on private land. yes, we were selling tickets and food. yes, we didnt know a quarter of the people who had shown up. yes, if someone had broken a leg or drowned in the river or started a bushfire, we were completely uncovered and royally screwed. thankfully, none of these things happened and we all had a bloody good time. (this is in the past tense because since leaving australia, it seems the m2k hasnt quite gotten off the ground each summer - i shall be spanking some arse when i see them next!)

we didnt make a cent financially, but we were breaking even in costs.
we had stress in every part of the organisation of m2k and often during the event, but we also had an awesome time doing it.

burning man gets mentioned off and on in these forums. burning man began as a bunch of mates getting together on a beach one evening and having a good time and burning a statue during the night. its now has near on thirty-thousand participants, a turn-over in the millions $us, full-time staff, property and so on. but it started out just like m2k or whatever it is that you intend. have fun

pi

in vic, we has a thriving bushdoof (psy) scene, where even in crappy winterness, there's stomp in a forest somewhere!
the biggest concern is the NRE (Dept of Natural Resources & Environment) They and the relevant council shire will give you the permit if you satisy the requirements that include:
-toilet availability
-cleanup crews
-no objections from the neighbourhood (esp sound or cow tippin')
-no pets in national parks
etc and they won't care how much outlay you've put into it. Even earthcore gets moved if the small forest trails become a fire hazard.
party for today, prepare for the worst!
Practically all of the Melbourne organisers are available at www.oztrance.com, so start a thread in the S.A. section for some pointers, methinks
good luck and plan early! (a backup site in case of fire hazards is a good idea..)

Hi people,
My friends and I put on parties in england and have done some festivals as well. You gotta think about loos, health and safty, fire precausions, first aid, water, transport in and out of the site and other things that only pop up when you don't think about it!

If its on private land thats cool, but, if not you may have to deal with the police. Just be nice to them and hopefully they'll go away.

Most of all have a good time and everyone will have a good time with you!

Good luck n peace to you...

hen Ben! I'd be interested to go, although i'd have to work out costs for travel and accomadation and sundries etc. Keep me informed?