The Lost Lands is one for the family…

The Lost Lands has a pretty simple but important remit: to be a truly family-friendly camping event that focuses on getting the young people in our lives to engage positively with the best in music and art.
With the aim of being Australia’s leading festival for families, The Lost Lands promises to “ignite the festival lover in everyone” while enabling parents to share a wild and wonderful experience with their kids and friends, complete with music, art, installations, entertainment, food, and wine. It’s coined as the perfect family-orientated event, catering for kids and adults alike; but what is it that makes this festival the ultimate family experience?
“Look, there’s a couple of reasons,” artistic director Ian Pidd smiles. “Firstly, it is a really spectacularly beautiful sight [Werribee Park & Mansion], it’s just a beautiful place to have a festival like this. Secondly, the festival is a really nice mix of things; you wouldn’t call it a festival that’s just for kids, and you certainly wouldn’t call it a festival that’s for big rock and roll adult crowds. It’s a festival for families to do things together. There are things for little kids and there are things that mainly adults will like, but over the course of any given moment in there.
“I suppose another way of putting it, it’s not like a babysitting festival,” he continues. “It’s not like you put your kids inside a tent where they get to see something and you stay outside and wait for them to finish. All of the shows and all of the activities, the adults are going to love it just as much as the kids and the kids are going to love it too.”

With the firm belief that festivals can be a family experience; The Lost Lands will feature a tremendous array of both kids entertainment and family services, with a number of installations, arts programs, comedy, performance, theatre and dedicated wonder ‘Lands’ to entertain festival-goers.
Within the festival grounds, The Little Big Top will feature some of the best kid’s comedy, theatre and circus performers, while also having lots of interactive activities for families to participate in that will have the little ones jumping around with excitement. Kids can check out Doctor Hubble’s Bubble Show, run the show with face painting by kids, and partake in Games of the World, kids can make their own Frankentoy, and see live entertainment from ABC TV’s green thumb Dirt Girl.
A few more highlights for families include a Sleeping Bag Cinema screening classic family films and special cinematic delights; Gymkhana which will feature all the games your grandparents played (think egg and spoon, sack races, pass the parcel) and Bed Sheet Ghost Parties which involves throwing on bed sheet and enjoying all sorts of spooktacular activities. There’s also the esteemed acrobatic ensemble Gravity and Other Myths, which will see seven world class acrobats push their physical limits in a simultaneously raw, frantic and delicate performance with their award-winning show A Simple Space, which is something that adults will enjoy just as much as the kids – if not more.
It’s not just the wonder and arts that the kids can enjoy, but the music too. “At the front of the main stage, it feels like the front of a main stage at a big festival, except that in the kind of ‘dancing zone’ where it’s a tiny bit rowdy, people have got their kids on their shoulders. How good is that?!”
It’s a festival where you’ll see a two year old dancing to The Jungle Giants with their Dad, a five year old is on their Mum’s shoulders singing along to Aussie rockers You Am I, a teenager chilling to the sounds of Boo Seeka, or even the whole family swaying together to the soundtrack of Kate Miller-Heidke.

Catering for both kids and adults in equal measure with the family experience in mind, Ian reassures this event is for anyone of any age – regardless if you come with family or not.
“It’s made for families, but if you just love the program, just come with your boyfriend and hang out. Don’t feel you have to come with kids because last time we had plenty of people who didn’t have kids come along and they had a marvellous time. If you don’t have kids, you’re still going to have an excellent time… Or, you know, borrow somebody else’s,” he laughs.
To top it all off, The Lost Lands provides the rare opportunity for the whole family to enjoy a shared camping festival experience together. So whether you camp with your pals, your family, your friends and their kids, The Lost Lands promises to be a memorable get-together. So grab your sleeping bag, your kids, parents, cousins or friends, and prepare for a weekend of wonder and adventure into the Lost Lands.
The Lost Lands comes alive on November 3 & 4 at Werribee Park & Mansion, Werribee. Tickets are available through thelostlands.com.au and are on sale now.