Following on from Tassie music lovers getting a brand new music festival, now Sydneysiders are being gifted with a brand new camping festival to be held among the iconic Harbourside scenery, complete with fancy dress and on-site ‘glamping’.
Touted as a “festival that is like none other ever offered in the city,” the two-day camping festival is set to take over Cockatoo Island next February, as FACT Weekender claims territorial ownership for the first weekend of February 2014.
The “urban camping party” will present a selection of electronic and dance music, drawing from the experience the FACT brand has had in presenting events and parties all over the world, New York to London and Barcelona, as In The Mix reports.
For the Australian debut of FACT Weekender, launching 1st and 2nd Februar, 2014, at the heritage industrial complex on Cockatoo Island, organisers promise over 50 “of the best international and Australian DJs” across three stages – broken up into locals, overseas talent, and a Silent Disco King Arena hosting a DJ competition – with the festival headliners to be announced on Wednesday 13th November.
Presented by Essential Events Management, in association with FACT Australia and FACT Worldwide, the second and final day will mark Cockatoo Island’s rich history with an ‘Island History’ fancy dress theme. Festival punters encouraged to dress up as convicts, governors, and historically minded school children or teachers, to help get into the spirit – with the event’s Facebook page offering a few visual ideas for inspiration. “Imagine riding out to Cockatoo Island in style on a boat, ‘glamping’ with the iconic Sydney harbour in view…”
Aside from the fancy dress theme and dance music lineup, the major drawcard of Sydney’s FACT Weekender is its ‘glamping’ – that’s glamorous camping to the uninitiated. Patrons can expect “a Safari Bow tent” with all the luxuries of home, including camping beds with mattresses and full bedding, towels, sun lounges, an esky for drinks, and lanterns, with FACT organisers promising different levels of luxury for different sized groups.
Jody Coker Managing Director of Essential Events Management paints the picture for the two-day camping event; “Imagine riding out to Cockatoo Island in style on a boat, ‘glamping’ with the iconic Sydney harbour in view and spending the days listening to all your favourite DJs spin tunes and dancing the night away during the full weekend Island Party… all without actually having to go to the hassle of leaving Sydney,” he describes.
“The small sized boutique feel of the festival will make it intimate for partygoers as they can get up close to their favourite DJs and listen to a variety of a music they love. Tickets are very limited so those wanting to be part of the inaugural event will need to get in early,” adds Mr Coker.
To that end, early bird tickets for the inaugural event will be available at a discounted price from 9am, Friday 7th November at the official FACT Weekender website and at MoshTix, before the first lineup announcement the following Wednesday 13th November.
It’s not the first time that Cockatoo Island has hosted festivities, the Sydney Harbour location has been used for a number of arts and comedy events, while previously hosting the troubled Cockatoo Film Festival late last year. Despite a cinema programme of over 80 features and a music lineup featuring hip hop stalwarts Arrested Development and Aussie acts like Bluejuice, Matt Corby, Gossling, and Saskwatch, the debut event suffered from funding and logistical issues, which had a sticky end for creditors, as Sydney Morning Herald reported.
FACT however, have quite the impressive music event CV under their belt, with FACT Australia – formed in 2011 in a partnership with the Spanish FACT Worldwide arm – having prior experience in presenting DJs and events, most recently for a New Year’s Eve bash at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
FACT Weekender 2014
1st & 2nd February, 2014
Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, NSW
Lineup TBA Wednesday 13th November
Earlybird tickets available Friday 7th November from http://www.factweekender.com.au/ & MoshTix
