If you happened to be hiding under a rock, The Falls Music & Arts Festival is hitting the road this December with their compass set towards our sunny Byron Bay shores for the first time. Originally proposed as a January event at the North Byron Parklands site at Yelgun, the Falls Festival was asked by the Byron Bay Mayor Simon Richardson to hold the festival over the New Years Eve period, as a component of the Council’s new Safe Summer and Cultural Activities strategy.
“This event is a crucial piece in the community safety and cultural program jigsaw, currently being developed for the Byron Bay Shire. After the challenges of the 2012/13 New Years Eve, businesses, creative industries, tourism, Council and community groups have joined to create a safe, creative, community focused response. The event will be produced in close collaboration with the Byron Shire Council and it’s newly formed Community Summer Safety and Cultural Committee and will form part of a broader Shire wide risk management strategy; effectively providing a professionally and responsibly controlled licensed venue for the 18 to 30 year old demographic.” Mayor Simon Richardson
As an established event on both the Victorian and Tasmanian calendars, The Falls Music & Arts Festival has been operating over the past 20 and 10 years in Lorne and Marion Bay respectively. The intimate size of each event allows for a relaxed community atmosphere onsite, where days spent camping under the blanket of a stunning natural landscape are complimented by world class music and arts programming. Each event location has been carefully selected over time with an emphasis on regional destinations with stunning scenic, coastal surrounds.
“We’re really excited to be heading North and expanding this year, the Byron Bay location couldn’t be better suited to everything that has always encompassed Falls in Lorne and Marion Bay; coastal and picturesque natural settings.” Simon Daly, Festival Founder.
“When I first attended to Falls Festival I couldn’t help but feel I was actually in Byron. For those who are old enough to remember. Its’ very much reminiscent of the original surf doco ‘Morning of the Earth’. It’s so laid back I’d actually suggest it’s a bit more like Byron as it was 20 years ago.” Brandon Saul, Festival Director Byron Bay.
The Falls Music & Arts Festival has a measured history of contributing positive social outcomes to their locations. For patrons attending, the event provides a unique and engaging experience. For the communities where the festivals are hosted, well-managed events provide a fun, safe and controlled avenue for people to celebrate, thus reducing the burdens to towns and emergency service personnel over the high-risk NYE period.
“The presence of a controlled outlet of celebration during this period has significantly assisted the reduction of anti-social and harmful behavior occurring over New Year’s Eve (in Lorne). The Festival organisers highly skilled approach to crowd management and emergency planning has instilled confidence in the local community and authorities.” Rod Goring, Coast Manager Great Ocean Road Committee.
“Since the inception of The Falls Music & Arts Festival, organisers have facilitated a unique event where attendees have demonstrated a sophisticated and safe approach to celebrating New Year’s Eve. Event organisers have adopted an excellent approach to alcohol and crowd management, resulting in minimal to none disruptive behavior attended to by Victoria Police. Past experience has shown that without well-managed events, people will celebrate in a more harmful and anti-social manner, making it a risky environment for the community. The presence of the festival has seen a decline in the number of incidents and injuries occurring on the Lorne foreshore resulting in decreased pressure on services such as Victoria Police.” Sergeant William Matthews, Victoria Police.
The Byron Bay addition will kick off at the North Byron Parklands on December 31st 2013. You can also win yourself flights and tickets to any of the Falls events this NYE, find out more how to enter HERE.
Full information on all legs of The Falls Music & Arts Festival will be announced over the coming weeks – www.fallsfestival.com.au