Wallaby Creek Festival may have been a little extra muddy this year, but that couldn’t wipe the smiles off of festivalgoers’ faces as they connected over one of the event’s biggest musical lineups. Photo: Phat Love.
Wallaby Creek Festival has once again brought music, community and a healthy dose of Cape York mud together, with about 1000 people making their way to the Rossville rainforest on 25-27 September.
Even the rain earlier in the week turning the grounds into a “mud-fest” could not dampen the packed three-day festivities, with this year’s event featuring some big names thanks to a roughly $100,000 grant through the Federal Government’s Revive Live program.
One of the highlights was Mama Kin Spender, who made her maiden appearance at the 24th Wallaby Creek Festival.
“She was glorious. Everyone loved her music,” festival director Jen Midgley said.
The festival also welcomed Obisun back for a second appearance, along with Brisbane four-piece Dizzy Days, who brought a hard rock sound to the musical lineup.
While plenty of impressive acts travelled up to share their skills, there was no shortage of homegrown talent, including Ella Hartwig, who recently finished her first international tour in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
“She’s one of our locals and one of our babies, because Ella grew up playing at Wallaby,” she said.
Children also remained a significant part of the Wallaby Creek program, with a full three-day children’s festival running alongside the main event — an approach Ms Midgley said was important for keeping the event connected to younger generations.
“The YouthSpace was incredible. With help, they were making their own big toys, like wind-up seesaws and all these different things out of logs to create a do-it-yourself playground,” she said.
“Kaptan Kerri ( Kerri Ryder) coordinated the YouthSpace again this year, but she really left it to the children to work out their own projects and do their own budgeting, so they learned as well.”
For Ms Midgley, who has now spent almost a decade and a half volunteering in the role, the excellent music year after year wasn’t necessarily what kept her going.
“It’s the connections that people make. It’s the synchronicity. It’s the sharing of cultures and sharing of skills,” she said.
“It is a wonderful, wonderful place to be able to connect.”
