7 Weeks Out. Meet Dean.

Hi Dean, Introduce yourself please.
Hi, I’m Dean, I look after Festival sponsorship. It’s my job to get sponsors on board, to support it and help make it the amazing Festival it is.

This isn't Dean. It's TIM FINN:

Here's Dean:

This is the first St Kilda Festival you’ve worked on isn’t it.
Yes, my first working in the Festival team, but actually my fifth - I used to work on it for one the sponsors.

Interesting seeing it from the other side?
Yes, very different. At the start it was weird - the same job, different desk. Now I’m all settled in and loving it.




You’ve got a fridge full of paddle pops near your desk. What are they for?
They’ve been supplied by one of our great partners.

Can I have one?
You’ve already had 3. Don't you think that's enough for one day?

I’m collecting sticks to win a super soaker… for all of us.

Sponsorship is important to the Festival, right?
Yes very important. Our partners keep it going. Without them the Festival wouldn’t be able to continue.

That doesn’t bear thinking about.

Why would you sponsor St Kilda Festival?
So many reasons… The simple answer:

Firstly – to support live Australian music...

…to keep a Melbourne tradition going...

...to engage with a massive and diverse audience. There’s 400,000 people of all ages in St Kilda on Festival Sunday, that’s equivalent to three AFL Grand Finals and a Melbourne cup – all in one place on one day. All there to experience the music, soak up the atmosphere and generally have fun.

As well as our long term supporters, we’ve got a lot of new sponsors for 2011…

Channel Ten…

Oooo Ten, as in, Neighbours??
Yes, that Ten

So Dr Karl’s band will be headlining the Main Stage?
No

Harold Bishop on his euphonium?
No

... Our sponsors are planning some great activities for everyone to get involved in.

Oh, something really exciting…

The bands on the Nova New Music Stage will, as always be competing for the Audience Award, as voted by Festival attendees (@ stkildafestival.com.au ). This year the winner will not only win $5,000 CASH and open the Main Stage in 2012, but they’ll also receive a one day recording session at Hothouse Audio in St Kilda.

Wow! That’s great.

Can’t tell you much more at the moment, but there’s a lot of supercool new things in the pipeline.

So, what will you be doing on Festival Sunday?
I’ll be running round, checking in on all our sponsors, making sure they’re all happy and that their activities are running well. I’ll be hosting others and showing them around the site. I’m really looking forward to it.

So am I

What are you doing for your holidays?
Spending time with my family, resting up before we come back the first week of January for crazy busy Festival lead up time.

Will Santa be coming to you?
I hope so.

Have you been good? Or will you get rotten potatoes in your Santa sack?
I hope not. I always leave him a ham and cheese sandwich…

Dean, it’s been a delight speaking with you this afternoon. You have an amazingly restful holiday.
(The paddle pops fridge may be bare when you return. Thanks in advance).

From all of us in the Festival team - HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

9 Weeks Out. Meet Adele.

9 weeks to go…

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, this blog post is the best yet. We meet Adele and talk FESTIVAL SUNDAY BANDS!

Extraciting!

Hi Adele, introduce yourself please.

I’m Adele, the Festival Producer. I’m in charge of bringing all the different bits of the Festival together to make a program. I also manage the magnificent Festival team.

Aha - check that: “magnificent”. Nice one.

How many St Kilda Festivals have you worked on?

Six so far. Four as producer and the first two I was the Festival Administrator.

How many St Kilda Festivals have you been to?

I grew up in St Kilda and over the 30 years it’s been running, have been to every one – except perhaps the first one when I was 2. My parents can’t remember if they took me or not.

And when you went, did you ever imagine you’d be producing it?

No I never imagined that I would be. Actually I don’t think I ever really thought about who or how it was produced. I thought it just happened.

So, when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A rock star.

I still might be on one day.

Yes, it’d be so good being a rock star.

Ok ok – the information we’ve all been waiting for…. who’s playing on Festival Sunday?

……The amazing TIM FINN!

The wonderful KIMBRA. 

One of my idols, PARIS WELLS.

The exciting HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY…

We still have lots of secrets up our sleeves.

I’m really looking forward to Tim Finn, singing songs I’ve sung all my life – there’s nothing better than a St Kilda Festival sing-a-long.

Correct – better than spending 6 months in a leaky boat I imagine.

What other secrets can you let us in on?

I’ve been working with a huge number of activity and community groups, putting together a huge range of things (aside from music) for people to see & do around the site.

Highlights?

So many…

Yalukit Willam Ngargee on the 5^th Feb which has a super strong line up plus a sunset ceremony I’ve been hearing about for months and can’t wait to see.

Live N Local’s getting better and better every year. This year there’ll be over 90 bands performing during the week.

There’ll be a free screening of muranduk – a film about the Black Arm Band’s global tour in O’Donnell Gardens on Fri 11 Feb.

The Hare Krishnas will be reintroducing the Ratha Yatra Parade to Melbourne for the first time since the 70’s.

We’re bringing Skimboarding to St Kilda beach – it’s like a cross between snowboarding and skateboarding, in shallow water.

Keep checking our website as we release more programming information…

Oh, for the first time on Festival Sunday – we have a DanceZone featuring everything from Zumba to cha cha, hip hop and swing.

Ooo will you be there dancing?

I’d love to be, but will be too busy for much dancing.

What do you do on Festival Sunday?

I have to be in about 45 places at once.  I try to see every band playing and check in on each activity I’ve worked with programming. I need to spend time with our VIPs – showing them round and making sure they’re all enjoying themselves. I also do interviews – like this one.

This interview is much more important though.

And I talk a lot on radio, make sure there are no problems I may have to deal with, which there never are.

Do you get nervous before the Festival?

For about the first 30 seconds when I wake up on Festival Sunday. Not before, not after. It’s excited/nervous.

And I know that at the end of the day I’ll get to stand and watch the crowds leaving,  everyone’s had fun and we’ve pulled it off another year.

Ahhh yay! Can’t wait.

Goodbye Adele. Happy Friday!

10 Weeks Out. Meet Dave.

You may have noticed that we missed a posting of the most interesting blog in the world last week. Apologies, I hope you all coped without your weekly instalment.

We’ve been busy finalising all the programming - making a music festival and now have a full house of St Kilda Festival team members.

Here we all are in our weekly update meeting:

As well as making a festival, some of us have also been busy in the kitchen. You’ll be interested to know, the results of the great gingerbread bakeoff: it was a close competition, but plate 3 won.

Back to the Festival..

This week, we meet Dave.

Hi Dave – introduce yourself please

Hi my name’s Dave Wilko… I’m the Festival Operations Manager. Working under the direction of the Production Manager, I manage all the operational aspects of the Festival and am responsible for engaging all the temporary staff – stage managers, site managers, logistics crew… and other site staff.

Aha, so, what are you doing at the moment?

Well, there’s about 60 temporary staff that come on board, the first starting from about 4 weeks out. At the moment we in the production team are recruiting for these positions, we’re also updating the task lists so they all know exactly what they need to do when they start.

And what else?

I’m updating policies… like the hire vehicle policy.

Golf buggies?

Yes, buggies and others – utes etc, every vehicle we use on site. Basically to make sure staff know how to drive them safely.

I’m also updating the Emergency Management and Transport Management Plans.

Yes?

The Emergency Management Plan details the Festival’s response to any incident on site or those that may affect the Festival. It’s endorsed by our Emergency Management Committee - made up of representatives from all the emergency organisations in Melbourne – Police, Ambulance, Fire Brigade, St John, Festival Security, Council…

And the Transport Management Plan?

This document is large like the Emergency Management Plan. It details all the road closures and changes for Festival Sunday... and all the transport options on how to get to the Festival. With over 300,000 people coming to the Festival, the best option is to get public transport. Leave the car at home!

Right

The plan is endorsed by our Transport Management committee with representatives from the trams, buses, taxis , Department of Transport, Vic Roads, CoPP Traffic, Festival Security, traffic security …

And as well as that, what else are you up to?

I’ve started speaking with all the people who are running special events on Festival Sunday, like the biketrails demonstrations, beach volleyball, football and others. This year there’s about 25. I sort out their production requirements, order PAs, sound systems, lighting...

We also help them getting their documentation like risk assessments together.

And on Festival Sunday - what do you do?

I don’t see much of the actual Festival – only through CCTV camera screens. I spend most of the day on the radios, monitoring what’s going on around the site through 6 channels and respond to requests…

Clever – 6 channels? Many conversations, and many requests, yes?

Yes.

What kinds of requests?

.. someone might be late on stage..  performers need to be transported from the car park to one of the stages.. “can we get more water” “we need more sunscreen”  “there’s cars parked in the Dance Zone” …. those kind of things…

What time do you start?

About 4.30am when signage crew start installing the final signage and so we can organise the road closures which start happening from 5am.

And finish?

I work through til about 2am when the roads are all open again, the site’s cleaned and St Kilda’s back to being the way it is all the other 364 days of the year.

That’s a long day on the radios

Yes it is.

And by the end you finish every sentence with “over”

Yes I do …. Over!

Roger that.

Well Dave it’s been a blast speaking with you this afternoon. I’ll let you get back to your policy updating and staff recruitment.

Over. And. Out.

12 Weeks Out. Meet Jake.

Correct, you read that right - only 12 weeks until summer, sunshine, music, beach... St Kilda Festival time! This week we meet Jake.

Hi Jake, introduce yourself please

Hi, I’m Jake, the Festivals Administrator. My job’s varied; I’m responsible for a wide range of things – financial; raising purchase orders and keeping track of invoices, contracts, some programming, general office management … lots.

[Yes, Jake – is a very busy lad, always doing something.]

What are you up to at the moment?

At the moment I’m finishing off programming the Kidzone Stage and organising the street performers for Festival Sunday.

Ah,  great!

Yes, It’s been fun. I’ve never done something like this before and I’ve really enjoyed it. Everyone who applied to be on that stage and who I’ve programmed genuinely want to give something to the community, are excited to be involved and have fun with the kids.

Any programming secrets you can let us in on?

I’ve programmed a wide range of activities and performances for the area – everything from music to facepainting, art workshops and magicians. There’ll be kids performing for kids – bands and dancers – performing in front of their peers and also giving them the opportunity to reach the wider Festival audience and get exposure.

Oh and keep your eyes out for a 11,564 kilogram elephant and a pair of mischievous giant seagulls who may just try and steal your chips.

Noted.

Sounds ace, what else?

Ha! I’ve been listening to music I don’t usually listen to.

Yes, I heard “Butterfly on my toe” coming from your pc yesterday. Great tune.

I’ve also just started organising all the band and performers contracts. There’ll be about 250 I think, which will keep me occupied for the next couple of weeks.

And this is your first StKilda Festival isn’t it?

Yes, I’ve just moved from Shepparton and have never been before. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the people in St Kilda, there to have fun, watch and listen to music and experience everything else that’s going on at the Festival.

…I’m looking forward to Live N Local – to check out what the local community has to offer.

…All of it and everything.

Excellent, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you today Jake. You have yourself a happy Friday.

13 Weeks Out. Meet Daniel.

It’s getting really busy down at St Kilda Festival HQ. Most of our production team have started, they’ve posted their master plans up on the walls and are plotting where everything’s going to go, what time everything’s going to be bumped in and out.

We’re well and truly into making the Festival.

This week we meet Daniel.

Hi Daniel, introduce yourself please.

Yes, ok, I’m Daniel, Master of the Universe [humour] and also Producer of Yalukit Willam Ngargee Festival – the outdoor Indigenous festival that kicks off St Kilda Festival week. It’s held In O’Donnell Gardens and features music, dance, kids entertainment, market stalls and a whole lot more. Plus some satellite events – visual art exhibitions and a book launch.

I’ve actually just started this job (he’s been here a week) but worked on the Bless Your Black Arts Festival back in the early 2000’s, which then turned into Yalukit, so it’s great coming back.

What are you doing at the moment?

At the moment, I’m finishing off programming the main music day (Saturday 5 February), sorting out contracts and getting all my marketing information together. I’ve met with our designers this week and will start working on print materials – posters, programs etc soon.

Busy then?

Yes, very

And the YWN Production Manager starts in a couple of weeks; when we’ll really get into the planning the logistics of the day.

Any programming secrets you can let us in on?

The line up this year is very strong. We’ve got a lot of new and younger acts… some local, some interstate… hip hop, r ’n b, indie rock …

Oh, something I’m particularly looking forward to in the dance program – a troupe of ballroom dancing-waltzing elders and a twilight ceremony.

What’s your favourite colour?

Black… no green, can I say both? It changes

It’s not really that important… you’re busy and it's Friday.. I’ll go now.

14 Weeks Out. Meet Gabi.

It’s not all programming that’s going down at St Kilda Festival HQ at present.
Ever wondered who organises all the stalls, or how many icecreams are sold at the Festival?
You're about to find out. This week, we meet Gabi…

Hi Gabi, introduce yourself please:

Hi I’m Gabi, Festival Trader Liaison Coordinator. I work with the permanent St Kilda traders and Festival Sunday stallholders, organising the participation application process, issuing permits and then making sure they’re all happy on Festival Sunday.

What are you doing at the moment?

At the moment, permanent traders are applying to extend their footpath trading areas on Festival Sunday. The extra area has to be permitted by Council and they also apply for a special liquor license to cover it. I help them with both applications. We’ll submit all the liquor license applications on behalf of the traders very soon.

[There’s usually about 20 venues that decide to extend their trading = approx 1,000m2]

I spend a lot of time on the phone (as well as visiting the traders in person).

Aha – and what else?

Well, we also have applications open now for stallholders (food and market) wanting to have their stall at the festival. Again, I help them with their applications, permitting and then organise where their stalls will be located on Festival Sunday.

Sounds like you know a lot about permits?

Yes I do.

How many stalls are usually at the Festival?

There’s about 230 stall spaces altogether…

When I’m planning where they all go, I have to make sure there’s a good mixture of food and market stalls and that everyone’s got good spots.

About Festival Sunday:

I’ll be on site from when the stalls begin to be bumped in, making sure its all going smoothly, then throughout the day, I’ll make my way round the site, checking in on everyone to see that they’re all happy.

What time will you start in the morning?

About 5am – the stalls are bumped in from 6am.

What time will you finish?

Around 2am, when everyone’s left, the roads are open and the site’s back to being the St Kilda it is the other 364 days of the year, when the Festival’s not on.

That's a long day... a lot of ground to cover... and a lot of people to check in on.
You'll get to drive a golf buggy right... and have a walkie talkie?

Yes, I’ll have a buggy and a walkie talkie

and I’ll also have a folder

and a clipboard? Clipboards are good

hmm, maybe

oh, and a hat, I’ll be wearing a hat – it gets hot down there.

It's been fascinating speaking with you today Gabi.

Now give us some stats please:

• There are 1,350 square metres of stall marquees on site
• If all the trestle tables (in the stalls) were placed in a continuous line they would stretch to ½ a kilometre.
• The festival hires enough chairs (in the stalls) to seat 22 full size Orchestras

Throughout Festival Sunday the following are consumed from stallholders:

• 1,500 bags of ice
• 94,000 bottles of water
• 86,000 bottles of soft drink
• 1.5 tonnes of hot dogs
• 4 tonnes of chips
• 48,000 ice creams

Nice one, thanks. And it’s back to permits for Gabi.

15 Weeks Out. Meet Kristy

We run a Call for Entries process, open for the month of September; where bands, solo musicians, children’s entertainers, community groups and people with an event or activity they’d like to showcase at the Festival apply to be a part of it. We got loads of entries for each category and we’re busy going through them all… planning and beginning to program the Festival. First St Kilda Festival team member you’ll meet now is the clever Kristy…

Hi Kristy, introduce yourself please:

I’m Kristy (hi!), I coordinate and program Live N Local, a week of gigs and more; 6-12 February - showcasing the fantastic talent and venues we have in here in the City of Port Phillip. I also look after the New Music Stage on Festival Sunday which is open to self-funded artists Australia wide.

What are you doing at the moment?

At the moment I’m like a kid in a lolly shop, listening to all the music we have received through our Call for Entries. I’ve also been chatting to local venues in St Kilda, locking them into host. So yes, well and truly into planning the week which is tracking along very nicely, I’m feeling ridiculously enthused about it all actually. Entry-wise, it’s a strong year, there’s some super excellent artists around - I’ve had some of their music on permanent repeat over the weekend. My cat, Bandit, was providing some pretty positive feedback!

How many entries did you get?

Almost 300 – that includes local acts for Live N Local as well as entries for performers wanting to play the New Music Stage on Festival Sunday.

That's a lot of music. How long is it going to take you to listen to it all?

Well, say each song is 3 minutes long, each band submits 2 songs and there’s 300 bands who’ve entered… hmm (enter calculator) it’s going to take me about 30 hours, actually longer as I listen to most more than once, and I get repeat-stuck on some.

What’s your favourite colour?

Rainbow and sparkles

That’s not really a colour Kristy

Ok then, gold – because it’s shiny.

Back to the music:

It’s not only me who judges the music, we have a panel of 5 (not including me) so it’s a community inclusive process. The panel’s made up of 2 high profile local bookers plus 3 community members with strong backgrounds in music who applied and were selected to be part of it.

What have you got planned for Live N Local – can you let us in on any programming secrets yet?

There’s bits and pieces brewing and bubbling away that we haven’t seen so much at the festival in the past. We have received the broadest genre range of entries ever this year, so there’ll be some showcase gigs that are a bit outside the box. Naturally, it’s summer and it’s St Kilda so there’s lots of opportunities for afternoon and late night sessions to tantalise the masses (delicious!!).

Music Managers Forum presence has grown to include additional skills based development sessions aimed at emerging artists performing as a part of the festival however these will be open to anyone trying to grow their knowledge base.  

Of course, not new to the Festival, but a solid favourite - the Festival Sunday New Music Stage is back – where the best act on the stage as voted by the festival-going public will win $5,000 plus they’ll be opening the Main Stage in 2012. Don’t say that’s not wonderful!

So that’s Kristy, Live N Local Coordinator. We’ll come back to talk with her again a little closer to the Festival and maybe we’ll find out about the rabbit mask she has on her desk.

Hi-Welcome-Intro-Us-About

Hi,

This hopefully/defintely fascinating behind the scenes blog, with regular contributions from all St Kilda Festival staff will let you know what we’re all up to as we produce this great music festival.

Firstly, for those of you not familiar with St Kilda Festival, here's a pretty picture from the last one- February 2010:

And a bit more about it:

The St Kilda Festival is an annual event produced and presented by the City of Port Phillip. At its heart it is a free community celebration of and for one of Melbourne’s most renowned locations. Regularly attracting crowds of more than 300,000 people to its outdoor celebration, the festival is a summer landmark for Melbourne, inviting people of all ages to come together and at thirty one years old, it is one of Australia’s oldest surviving community music festivals.

St Kilda Festival is nine days long and made up of three components. The first is Yalukit Willam Ngargee, People Place Gathering (5 February 2011): an outdoor Indigenous festival featuring music, dance, children’s activities, theatre and more that welcomes people to St Kilda for the week ahead.

Live N Local (6-12 February 2011) follows, with St Kilda venues throwing their doors open to host a variety of local bands, musicians, performers, artists and comedians in a  series of one off and special events – everything you love about St Kilda and more.

And finally, the big one  Festival Sunday (13 February 2011) –where people are treated to a rich and diverse range of Australian talent, with more than 50 bands performing across the stages, plus extreme sports, dance, children’s entertainment...the list goes on and on. Set against the backdrop of St Kilda, St Kilda Festival is the only place to be on the second Sunday in February.

We'll be updating these entries regularly, so come back and see what we're up to...