St Kilda Festival 2011 - over.and.out

The Festival is over for another year... the whole week was amazing culminating with Festival Sunday and 420,000 of you excellent people out in the summer sun enjoying the music, activities, St Kilda - your Festival.

The same team who work on St Kilda Festival also produce the St Kilda Film Festival, so we'll be hibernating this blog for a few months.

See you later in the year!

Love the SKF11 Team.

Festival Week. Meet Emily and Mel.

St Kilda Festival is now in full swing. Check our website and facebook for updates and pics.

With less than a week until the big one – Festival Sunday, we’re busy busy behind the scenes… and so the blog goes on.

This week we meet Mel and Emily. Wow, a double dose of fascinating information you ask? Yes. Between these two, they’ve spoken, emailed or met every single person performing, working, sponsoring, residing, photographing or trading on site on Festival Sunday. Attention-to-detailers, they know how to work a big spreadsheet and keep track of a million tiny pieces of important information.

First up: Mel.

Hi Mel, introduce yourself please.

Hi, I’m Mel, the Festival Accreditation Coordinator. I issue all passes, permits and carparking for Festival Sunday. I make sure people get where they need to be.

What will you be doing on Festival Sunday?

I’m in the site office all day… on the radio traffic channel responding to any issues that come up across the site and at the accreditation check points. I reissue passes to people who’ve forgotten or lost theirs.

How many pieces of accreditation do you issue?

Approximately 7,000. That’s artists’ passes, staff passes, meal tickets, resident car access passes... and as I said before; car parking passes.

Yes, I’ve seen your massive spreadsheets.

Aha – there’s a lot of information to collate. I start from about 10 weeks before Festival Sunday, firstly gathering all the St Kilda resident information then working through staff, contractors and artists. About 80% of my job is done in the last 3 weeks leading into the Festival.

So, you’re really busy right now, then.  Just one more important question...

I hear you’re really good at music trivia. What 1976 chart topping song did Barry Manilow sing, but not write?

I write the songs?

Yep. good.

Ok and on to Emily:

Hi Emily, introduce yourself please.

Hi, I’m Emily, I’m the Production Safety Administrator. I ensure that everyone working on site: staff, contractors, traders and sponsors is safety inducted – that they all complete the safety induction test. Then I issue them with their safety card.

I also collate all the Festival Health and Safety documents and help prepare risk assessments for the events, activities and any construction happening on site.

Safe. 

What will you be doing on Festival Sunday?

I’ll be patrolling the site to make sure it’s safe. And conducting spot checks; checking that everyone’s got their safety card on them.

Aha – “patrolling”... as in Safety Police?

Kind of.

So, you’ve done the safety test then?

Yes.

Did you get full marks?

Of course.

Let’s see just how safe are you Emily Production Safety Administrator:

How may biohazards enter your body?

Um… ok, they can be ingested, inhaled and/ or absorbed.

Correct.

To avoid tipping or rolling a golf buggy over, what precautions should you take?

You should never use a Golf Buggy on excessive gradient slopes or where a roll over hazard exists. You must drive the vehicle only as fast as terrain and safety considerations allow... you should only drive the vehicle straight up and straight down slopes, and slow down before corners.

Ok, I think you’re safe.

Actually, I think you’re both amazingly safe. You may get back to your spreadsheets now, thanks for your time.

8 Days Out. Meet Shannon.

With just over a week left until St Kilda Festivaling, we meet the man himself - Production Manager, Shannon.

Hi Shannon, introduce yourself please. Don’t be nervous.

Hi I’m Shannon, I’m the Festival Production Manager.

I’m responsible for all the production and operational elements of the Festival. I manage a team of 9 very capable people who help me do that.

And all the other people who make the Festival happen?

Outside of the core team, on site the Festival directly employs around 80 production and ops people everyone from stage managers, site power coordinators, site managers, logistics people, signage installers…

Indirectly there are another approx 500 people working: security, cleaning, rigging and all the other jobs that make it all go smoothly.

For those people wanting to get into production management, tell me a little about your career path…

I started as a theatre company stage manager at a small country town in South Australia. Then I learnt all elements of production – everything from sound, lighting, staging, set building, pyrotechnics… I got my truck and bus licenses and became a multi skilled technician very quickly.

[There’s way more to this... Commonwealth Games Technical Director – River, World Masters Games and a million other big events around the world… he’s done everything……..he’s even met the Pope whilst working on World Youth Day in Sydney]

But before that you were a DJ?

Yes, I may have been.

I have been known to have spun some steel.

That’s DJ speak.

What was your favourite choon to spin before the ugly lights came up?

Ooo, good question

Ummm… Mr Jones by Counting Crows

Well, we all want something beautiful

And Just a Gigolo - it was good to finish with, about going home … alone…

Oh, that’s sad…

Back to the interview

How many St Kilda Festivals have you worked on?

This could be my twelfth.

Yes it is – I think I started in 1999 working in site management… and there was no Festival in 2006.

Wow 12! You will have seen a lot of changes?

Yes, when I started there were 4 stages. This year there are 10. Not all music, there’s the Kidzone stage and the Hare Krishna Stage. A lot of variety.

There’s a lot more community activities on site. The new Live N Local Stage for example – it’s such a great launch pad. People know this and as a result there’s greater participant engagement across the board.

12 St Kilda Festivals? What keeps you coming back?

It’s hard to put a finger on it. No 1 stage or element, just the St Kilda-ness.

It’s a meeting place for people and ideas, a melting-pot-gathering. As it’s free, it attracts all types of different people and after all these years it still has a raw feel to it - it’s not too polished like some other events, or overproduced. And I guess that’s what I like the most.

I enjoy it.

And I come back because I always see ways that it can be improved without changing its character. For me, it’s as much about protecting the Festival as it is about staging it.

And the chicken parma from The Balaclava (over the road from the office), that’d influence your decision too wouldn’t it?

Yes, you’re right, that plays a significant role in making me return to St Kilda.

I do like a good chicken parma.

Tell me about your favourite. Where would one go to purchase the best parma in Australia, in your opinion?

Oooo you’ve really put me on the spot there. That’s tough.

*Concentration…thinking….*

Any from the myriad pubs in south Melbourne I’d say. Although I do have a soft spot for The Balaclava. Chef does well, he tries his best!

Tell me about the crazy times... Festival week? What happens in Shannonland?

We all move to the site offices and everything is set up. The week before Festival Sunday is a continual bump in with all the stages being erected and other infrastructure going in. By Friday and Saturday, we in the production team are working 16 hour days.

On Festival Sunday I have a 4am start. First off, monitoring the road closures and checking that everything’s going to be ready to go by 10am when the people arrive. During the day I make sure everything’s running smoothly, deal with issues as they come up.

At the end of the day we start bumping out immediately, as soon as everyone’s on trams homeward bound. And then we start the clean up. By 8am on Monday morning, St Kilda is in its best condition with shiny roads and sparkling footpaths. If I’m lucky I may make it to bed by 4am on Monday morning.

Do you get to see any of the Festival?

Not really, I try to pop into the VIP area at the Main Stage for about 5minutes.

Which band will be using up your 5 minutes on this year?

This year I’d like to see Hungry Kids of Hungary.

Really?

I’ve heard they’re new, cool and popular. I’d like to see what that’s all about.

And after the Festival?

I fall over.

No, really, it takes me about a week to get back to normality. After the debriefs I’ll take time out and try to do very little for a week or so… then straight into working on the Queensland Music Festival.

No rest for the wicked!

Indeed Shannon.  Life is a dance floor.

12 Days to go! Meet Russel.

Wow! only 2 weeks to go til St Kilda Festival 2011. Lets' meet Russel. He's worked on about a million events and is very clever...

Hi Russel, introduce yourself please

Hi, I’m Russel, the Festival Production Coordinator. I liaise and procure.. bit like a Gopher.

Yes?

I find and get things for production and operations.

Like what?

Plant [that’s big machinery], CCB [that’s barrier fencing], transport…

And I coordinate contractors drop offs, times in, make sure they’re all coming when they’re supposed to be. And that everything’s being installed as it should. I and the rest of the Production team are ‘watchdogs for safety'.

What are you doing at the moment?

Finishing ordering everything, umm… also collecting all the band backline specs.

Riders? Anyone asked for anything outrageous?

No they’ve all been reasonable requests so far.  Water, comfortable chairs…

Ordering golf buggies?

Yes – all kinds

Special 6 seater limo-like buggies for transporting musicians to the stages, there’ll be a couple with tray on the back; like utes, a fat off-roader for the beach, a mini jeep buggie in case we need to tow anything….

You’ve worked on loads of big events haven’t you?

Yes, in various roles. I started working in events ion 2003 – when I was the Coordinator of Volunteers for the Rugby World Cup in Sydney. I’ve also worked on the Commonwealth Games, West Asia Games, the Pope’s World Youth Day visit, yes, all the glory jobs like installing the Popes toilet, and no it wasn’t made of gold but nobody else was allowed to use it, and I looked after the Torch Relay transport and logistics for the Vancouver Winter Olympics…

Splutter. *chokes on paddle pop* .Recovers

Wow – loads. You’re good.

Hmm, for all those jobs, you have to have a good practical knowledge of operations… and for logistics be good on the fly at maths.

How many paddle pops have you eaten today?

Just one, this is my first.  Well actually, only a quarter so far.

Oooo, yes, I see, you are good at maths.

So, you like to sing? You’ve got quite a voice

Ahh, yes, I do like to sing. Friday Classics makes me happy. We in the production team are going to form a choir... or a band course they don’t know it yet.

That’s a good idea.

What will you be doing on Festival Sunday?

I’ll start at 6am and spend my whole day out on site. I’ll be all over the place, the bossy person on the ground, checking all the infrastructure, making sure everything’s safe and working as it should. I’ll relieve site staff when they go on meal breaks.

I’m also going to try and enjoy the sun (as I’m working) and watch some bands on my way past the various stages.

I can’t wait to see the stage up on the Foreshore. 

Yay! Me too – so exciting!

Thanks Rusty, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you today!

4 Week Out. Meet Meghan.

With only 4 weeks to go (actually 3 if you don't count this week) until St Kilda starts, it's a hive of activity here at St Kilda Festival HQ. The full line up was announced this week and the programs are out. If you haven't got your hands on one yet, check out the website stkildafestival.com.au for all the amazingness we have planned for the week.

There's so much to see, watch, enjoy, experience. It's all very exciting.

Right, on to the interview. This week we meet Meghan.

Hi Meghan introduce yourself please.

Hi I’m Meghan, I’m the Festival Sponsorship and Signage Production Coordinator. I assist all the sponsors with their on site logistics and look after production of all the signage that goes up.

We’ll start with signage first:

What sort of signs?

All signs – everything from road closures, toilets, directional signs (arrow this way, arrow, that way), entry & exit and all the promotional ones – Stage line ups, all the flags that go along The Esplanade etc…so many signs

How many altogether?

Over 350 are installed onsite altogether.

That’s a lot of signs.

Yes it is.

The first of the promotional signs - the big tower banners that are put up along Jacka Boulevard are actually arriving here at the office this afternoon. They’ll be installed next week which is exciting.

Oh they just arrived – YAY, 10 down 340 to go!

And the others? When do they go up?

The rest are installed from the day before Festival Sunday. (Saturday 12 February). A team of 12 work all day Saturday and then start again at 2am Sunday morning. They have to have them all up by 10am when the Festival starts.

They’re all taken down again from about 10pm on Sunday night. It doesn’t take nearly as long to take them down, the team has to be finished by 2am when the site is cleared and back to how it usually is the other 364 days when the Festival’s not on.

They have to be careful though as we reuse a lot of the signs from year to year.

Oh, what are the biggest and smallest signs?

The biggest are the massive banners on the side of the Main Stage – they’re 7 x 6 metres

And the smallest is only 13 x 7cm.

Ooo tiny – what are they for?

They’re ‘replacement signs’ – little stickers that cover up or replace information on signs that were used last year. Date changes mainly.

And the other part of your job – Sponsorship. Tell us about that please.

Ok, so basically, I make sure that all their on site needs are met, that everything they need to have for their activation is there and done in a safe way, so they’ll have a happy and successful day.

What does that entail?

I help the sponsors with any infrastructure they need, like marquees, tables and chairs as well as power, signage…

At the moment, I’m making sure we’ve got all the right information from them so that their St Kilda Festival goes exactly according to plan.

Collecting their event management plans, risk assessments, OH&S management plans…

We’re also organising film & photography permits and sampling permits - for those wanting to hand stuff out.

And compiling lists of names of the people they’ll have on site so we can get them accreditation passes (on site access passes) and make sure they’ve all completed the online safety induction.

How many people is that for then?

Oh, there’s hundreds. All the sponsor bump in crews, their promotional staff, subcontractors and volunteers….  

So much information….

And what about you on Festival Sunday, what will you be doing?

I’ll be starting very early – with the signage installation crew to make sure that all goes smoothly. Then I’ll check in all the sponsors to make sure they’ve got everything they need and help out with anything that comes up.

Or down if it’s signage.

What are you most looking forward to seeing?

Save the Children Make your Mark. It’s a big marquee where they’re asking people to ink up their thumbs and ‘sign’ a petition to help children worldwide survive to see their 5^th birthday. It’s a great concept for an activation. I suppose we’ll see everyone at the Festival walking around with inky fingers.

And will you get to see any bands?

Luckily, I’ll be outside a lot, so I’ll get to see things as I walk past. I really want to see Hungry Kids of Hungary – they’re on the Main Stage at 6.30pm.

Ooo so do I. Then Opulent Sound at O’Donnell Gardens…

So many good bands…

Well, Meghan, I’ve learnt a lot about signs this afternoon. Thanks for that. You have a happy rest of your Friday.

5 Weeks Out. Meet Annie.

Hi Annie, introduce yourself please

Hi! You know who you are!

Ah for the benefit of those reading this blog entry…

Oh ok. Hi! My name’s Annie and I look after the marketing for the Festival. I like it. It’s fun.

What are you doing at the moment?

Ah interviewing myself.

…and in the broader context of your job?

At the moment, I'm mainly making the website. It's really time consuming however when it's finished...very satisfying.

Our programs have gone to print and will be distributed around Melbourne from next week – exciting.

From now, I will be working with designers to finish all our signage, making up some competitions so you can all win stuff, liaising with our publicists… general promotional business.

Your job sounds quite creative, do you love it?

Yes, marketing for St Kilda Festival is a great job. Where else in world is a suburb closed to traffic for a day so people can come listen to music and experience such amazingness for free?! It means we don’t have to put resources into pushing ticket sales, but can really get behind promoting all the artists and activities that are happening. Actually my favourite and most satisfying part of my job is getting behind the emerging artists and promoting them. It’s a great launch pad for them – to be part of such a well known event with massive audience.

What do you do during Festival Week?

I’ll go to Yalukit Willam Ngargee and loads of Live N Local gigs – as many as I can get to. I’ll be doing a lots of facebooking and twittering, keeping everyone up to date with what’s going on.

On Festival Sunday I’ll be looking after our VIPs and our market researchers and checking in on our charity partners and merchandisers to make sure they’re having a good time and that their events are all running smoothly and according to plan.

I’ll try to catch every band playing, especially those on the New Music Stage – the line up there this year is really strong. AND I will definitely catch Tim Finn so I can sing along badly, loudly and shrilly to the songs I grew up with.

Does that mean you’re going to play your kazoo?

I will have it on me but it will depend on whether Tim invites me to play on stage with him. Not everyone appreciates the kazoo, you know…

It’s my favourite…

Last blog interview we were talking to Dean about Neighbours, are you ridiculously excited about Ten’s involvement?

YES. I LOVE NEIGHBOURS. I’ve invested many years of my life into that show! Neighbours is my specialty subject.

That’s quite impressive (if a touch obsessive)… who is your favourite person on Ramsay Street?

Ooo I don't have favourites. I feel like I know them all too well. They all bring a special something to the street. Although I have always had a soft spot for Stefan Dennis.

Did you always want to marry Scott Robinson?
No, I liked Guy Pearce’s character, Mike, better. Actually Henry was my favourite back in those days.

That’s understandable. Mona was a really good song. I can see the attraction there.

Soooo anyways you were talking about facebook and twitter what’s the most interesting/strange/awesome thing anyone has ever said on facebook or twitter?
Um, it’s mainly just general chit chat and news at the moment. Pretty much every day people ask me the dates of the Festival.

Can you highlight that again for those who may not have come across those daily posts?

Ha. Ok. Here they are:

Yalukit Willam Ngargee – Saturday 5^th February

Live N Local – Sunday 6^th – Saturday 12^th February

Festival Sunday – Sunday 13^th of February.

Don’t forget them!

You are the inventor of this amazing blog. Can you tell who is reading it and where they come from?

We’re getting lots of people reading it. People from Russia and Peru even, but mostly Australia, the UK although actually there are some other interesting ones I can’t remember off the top of my head. Everyone wants to know what we’re up to. It’s highly fascinating.

When are you going to tell us and the punters out there who else is gracing our beachside stages?
All will be revealed next week! WOOHOOOOOOO!

Can you please give us a hint?
No.

Why not?
Because. Be patient please.

Ok then…

Thanks Annie!

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.