Falls Festival, Marion Bay, Hobart
As the traffic slowed down along the windy coast there was an immense anticipation for something new and exciting, a great hope for everything to go well and be success. The Falls Festival had originated ten years earlier in Lorne, Victoria where a farmer with an eye for something big, decided to have his land used for an outdoor new years eve festival. No one really knew how it would turn out and in the end it exceeded all expectations. And so as we approached the turn off to our location, finally veering away from the coastal road, we, along with many others were thinking those same thoughts that the people of Lorne Victoria did, all those years ago.
People could choose to go for one or two nights or even for a day trip. However, the best experience was travelling with your friends and setting up tent for both nights. For the first Falls Festival in Tasmania big acts such as Xavier Rudd, The Beautiful Girls, Regurgitator, Michal Franti and Missy Higgins showcased as well as a long line of local performers, entertainers and comedians. The festival had one main stage for the big acts and a smaller one for local performers plus up and coming artists. People of all ages were allowed to attend, with 18yr old’s and over having a special wristband to buy alcohol. Drink were sold on a ticket system which made the lines less of a burden. A huge number of stalls set up, selling everything from merchandise, cameras and Indian cuisine.
The first festival was a great success, not only because of the large numbers that turned out and the great bands and acts that played but also because the festival made full use of Tasmania’s picturesque Marion Bay. Due to the high temperatures of the first festival (38 degrees) people swum in the bay to cool off from a night and day of sweating, dancing and getting lost, trying to find their car. Since ‘03 the Falls Festival has gotten bigger and bigger, with more famous names headlining each year.
It has now become a permanent feature of Tassie’s events calendar and will continue to be for some time to come. We had witnessed the glory of the first Fall’s at the back of a crowd staring down towards what seemed like a small stage set at the foreground of Marion Bay. Bushland surrounded us on either side and behind the stage a blue mass of ocean stretched out to the horizon. The sun was beginning to set and the new year was fast approaching. There was a type of feeling it seemed among us all, a wave of triumph, a great buzz, electrifying cheers and shouts that would continue through the night and bring us all safely into the new year.