For the Adventurer in All of Us…
It has been said there is an adventurer in all of us, and now there is a festival dedicated to that saying.
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.
Chatting with festival organisers Simon Daly (Falls Festival founder) and David Strong (The Peninsula Picnic creative director and former St Kilda festival director), it is clear the difference in their festival backgrounds, along with their established skills and open minds together, has been pivotal in creating this unique festival programming.
“What I liked about where it ultimately landed is that while it is a kid’s festival, it is also an adults festival – it landed in the middle as a family event. We are just focused on that magical experience and the adventures you can have with your children, as well as your mates,” says Strong, who has worked with a number multi-genre festivals over the years. “Kids are just a really lovely way to see the world.”
For Strong, the Lost Lands is fulfilling a life goal of creating a festival with complete creative control for the first time in 20 years, while for Daly, this concept is a complete blank canvas, marking his first project since leaving Falls Festival.
“It is so refreshing putting this festival together. You are not bound by any demographic. The programming is for 2-year-olds to 62-year-olds, and with that, all the creativity and the considerations and the experiences we want people to have are as families,” Daly says.
Following a family getaway to Lorne away from technology and the pressures of life, Daly was inspired to create a positive space where families can engage with each other and a range of activities, music and arts. He hopes this space will instil a future appreciation of a shared festival culture in Australia, following international festival trends by “introducing arts, culture and music to kids and the festival concept at a very young age.”
The Lost Lands features a stellar musical line-up of acts that can be enjoyed by both adults and children – meaning smiles all round. This includes headline Internationals Mariachi El Bronx and Ozomatli, as well as Australian favourites The Waifs, Missy Higgins, The Grates, Architecture in Helsinki, and The Bamboos. The festival also focuses on embracing new and emerging artists such as Alex Lahey, Tash Sultana and Harts, coined as an important feature in moving forward with an all-aged festival.
The two day event also includes an arts program, cultural activities, comedy and theatrical performances, an outdoor cinema and a dedicated kid’s entertainment area and a range of craft, music, dance, circus and yoga workshops. There will also be a quality selection of Melbourne restaurants, street eats, the best craft brews and wine.
Between the festival power duo reminiscing about their first meeting 15 years ago on stage at St Kilda Music Festival and Australia’s decline is popular music festivals, Strong explains their first-time collaboration “offers a truly unique experience for the festival scene”, with the family friendly aspect and focus on experience, as much as its programming, as the key to its success, limiting attendance to two and a half thousand family and friends. This aims to grow the festival culture in a way that won’t overwhelm festival goers, significantly reducing the clutter.
Held in the grounds of the Werribee Mansion, attendees can pitch a tent within walking distance of the Werribee Zoo, allowing people to be the first ones in the world to experience the space this way.
“You can literally hear a lion roar in the night from the park, and you can see giraffes from the edge of the campsite. It is really a unique festival setting, and that very much is what makes it a reality,” Daly says.
Grab your sleeping bag, your kids, parents, cousins or friends, and prepare for a weekend of wonder and adventure into the Lost Lands.
Written by Talia Rinaldo
When & Where: The Lost Lands, Werribee Mansion – October 29 & 30
