The Woodford Folk Festival is held annually over six days and six nights from Dec 27th through to January 1st. More than 2,000 local, national and international, artists, musicians and presenters put on over 438 acts to an audience of an estimated 132,000 people. The festival begins each year with the iconic Opening Ceremony and closes with the spectacular showcase, the Fire Event on New Year’s Day. This year will be the 33rd Woodford Folk Festival and the 24th held at Woodfordia. It is the largest gathering of artists and musicians in Australia.
The Woodford festival experience is deep, rich and colourful. It is based on a vision of inclusive and creative community, culture and tradition passed through generations, expressed through story and ceremony. The site, a former barren dairy farm, has been lovingly regenerated with over 120,000 subtropical rain forest trees, orchids, ferns and sedges planted to create habitat for butterflies and wildlife.
Woodfordia is transformed into a village that hosts over 25,000 daily patrons, performers, stallholders, volunteers and organisers. As many as 2,680 volunteers across 162 departments are at the heart of the organisation and contribute to the setup and day-to-day running of the festival. During the event the festival is actually the 67th largest town in Australia.
Each year construction begins in early December and continues up until Christmas Day. Over 450 contractors and volunteers build the village. Many come from around the world to be part of the festival build and then stay for a week after to pull the event down.
The festival build includes:
- Installation of over 20,000 square metres of canvas for 35 venues, 15 bars and over 200 food, craft and merchandise stalls
- Erection of over 5,500 signs
- Installation of over 13ks of fencing
- Placement of over 60 temporary offices and hired amenity blocks
- Filtration of 14 million litres of water
- Cleaning of over 500 toilets and 341 showers
- Distribution of 15ks electrical and communication cabling
- Construction of 25 stages
- Placement of 16,000 chairs
- Installation of 600 lanterns
The team are powered by over 24,000 meals and unlimited goodwill.
The festival programme features concerts, dances, street theatre, writers’ panels, film festival, comedy sessions, acoustic jams, social dialogue and debate, folk medicine, an entire children’s festival, an environmental programme featuring talks, debates and films, art and craft workshops, circus performances and workshops, late night cabarets, parades and special events including the spectacular fire event.
The festival streets are lined with restaurants, cafes, stalls, bars, street theatre and parades. Tree-filled campgrounds, butterfly walks, ponds and wildlife complete the picturesque site. The festival appeals to a diverse audience with all ages and many nationalities attracted each year. It’s a magical experience and one not to be missed.
Follow us on Instagram
Tickets are available now for Bushtime!
Join us beneath the trees while making unforgettable memories with loved ones lounging, swimming and enjoying a carefully curated programme of music concerts and artisan workshops for a high-spirited end to 2021.
Ticket link in our bio
Share the news with friends and family. Are you coming?
#woodfordia #thisisqueensland
It’s almost time Woodfordians. Tickets to Bushtime are launching this week!
Look forward to days of kicking back with your best mates, lounging while swapping stories by the lake. Sound off in the comments if you are coming, we can’t wait to see you.
photo: Jen Quodling
#bushtime #thisisqueensland
Join our community and get early access to all things Woodfordia, including early access to tickets for our upcoming events.
It’s $36 dollars per year to join and you get:
- Our quarterly journal Lore Society
- Invites to all our environmental projects
- Access to our citizen portal with video and audio from Woodford Folk Festival and The Planting – plus your donation will go directly to supporting Woodfordia.
Become a citizen today via the link in our bio.
Bushtime tickets and January Lake Gkula Camping bookings launching next week!
Start the new year right by swapping the blue screen for stars and moonlight while you camp out beneath the trees with the ones you hold dear.
More info and sign up in our bio link.
We can’t wait to see you at Woodfordia.
#woodfordia #bushtime #thisisqueensland
Discover the beauty of Woodfordia’s diverse ecosystem, come and stay on our 500 acres of land and reconnect with nature.
Take a dip in Lake Gkula’s cool waters after a walk through the woods, or spend the day forest bathing in serenity with the ones you hold dear. Abundant with more than 16 species of native fish and crustaceans and over 8,000 plants, including native water lilies, experience the beauty of Lake Gkula up close with Nature at your fingertips here in our campgrounds.
This spring holidays, escape to Woodfordia and experience Lake Gkula Camping.
Book your camping dates via the link in the bio.
photo: Martin Ollman
Take up the opportunity to engage your family with the natural world over the Spring holidays. With hiking/nature trails, biking spaces and communal campfires, book for a camping escape to Woodfordia and make memories that last a lifetime.
We look forward to having you join us this holiday break!
Secure your Lake Gkula Camping bookings via the link in our bio.
📸 : @jelightly
Bookings for Lake Gkula Camping are now open for the September/October Holidays (Saturday 18th September – Monday 4th October), with Lake Gkula looking truly glorious and its 2 year-old ecosystem now well established.
Whether it's your first to experience Woodfordia for the first time, or a fond return to your stomping grounds, take up the opportunity for a spring camping escape to Woodfordia over the coming holidays.
Book via the link in our bio.
Please share this post with friends and family. We look forward to having you join us this spring break!
Share the news Woodfordians! We will be holding our next Bushtime event over the traditional Woodford Folk Festival period. (Dec 27 to Jan 1) Plus we will be opening up our Lake Gkula Campground for the September/ October school holidays.
For the second year in a row we also must announce that due to the impacts of the global pandemic, we have had to cancel Woodford Folk Festival this year. We think our new offerings with Bushtime and Lake Gkula Camping, while smaller in scale, will give you the chance to have your little taste of Woodfordia for the year.
This is the first time that Woodfordia, the 500-acre parkland that is home to Lake Gkula, the iconic naturally filtered swimming lagoon – will be open for public camping over the Spring school break.
Lake Gkula Camping bookings will open by the end of August for the September/October school holidays. Tickets for Bushtime in December will launch in mid-September, with pre-launch available to Woodfordia Citizens.
Woodfordia will be operating under Qld Government health directives regarding Covid-Safe Workplans, restrictions and vaccination status at the time of the event and campground delivery.
P.S. If you want to become a citizen you can learn more about it via the link in our bio. Its $36 dollars per year and all the funds go to support us and the land at Woodfordia.
#woodfordia #woodfordfolkfestival #bushtime #lakegkulacamping #thisisqueensland
Be part of our community's journey towards thriving, long term vision in this dynamic, ever-changing landscape through sustainable and proactive ways. Become a citizen today via the link in our bio.
Photo: Eliah Lillis
#findyourtribe #woodfordians #imagineabeautifulfuture
We hope to create milestone moments with little ones through play and music once again very soon!
#woodfordia #littlewoodfordians
