Peats Ridge Festival

The tradition & historical record

Peats Ridge Festival was an Australian sustainable arts and music festival, held in Glenworth Valley, Peats Ridge, one hour's drive north of Sydney and a 90-minute drive from Newcastle, New South Wales. Established in 2004, one year after the death of the founder of the Glenworth Valley Horse Riding facility, the Festival was recognised as one of the world's leading sustainability events. It ran for three days around New Year's Eve, from 29 December to 1 January. The event organisers relied heavily on volunteer support, and volunteer service was rewarded with a free ticket. That type of employment strategy was one of many of the sustainable options chosen by the organisers of the festival. The festival was a camping event and was open to all ages, with free entrance for children under six, and a full program of events and activities for families and children, in addition to family camping areas. In addition to the music artists, the festival featured an arts program packed with visual and installation arts, performance, comedy, contemporary dance and theatre. Peats Ridge was recognised for discovering and presenting up-and-coming bands and artists, supported by an application process for emerging acts. ¹

The Peats Ridge Festival was recognised on both a national and international level for its focus and achievement in sustainability. The festival was awarded: ¹

Outstanding Greener Festival for The Greener Festival Awards in 2007, 2009, 2010 and most recently 2011 The Environmental Sustainability Award for the 2008 NSW State Government Green Globe Awards The Small Business Award for the 2009 NSW State Government Green Globe Awards Best Achievement in Sustainability for the 2009 & 2010 Australian Event Awards Most Green Friendly award the 2009 FasterLouder Festival Awards The Peats Ridge Festival was officially acknowledged by the UN for its work in environmental education, and in 2010 was the founding partner of the UN Music and Environmental Initiative. ¹

Glenworth Valley is one hour north of Sydney and 15 minutes from Gosford, located in the hinterland region of the NSW Central Coast. A 90-minute drive along the freeway from Newcastle, the valley features 3,000 acres (12 km2) of wilderness and is situated around the winding Popran Creek, which leads to the Hawkesbury River. The festival site was located in flat green meadows and was surrounded by a wooded escarpment 200 metres high. There were three designated swimming holes, two in the Festival precinct and one alongside the non-vehicle camping area, all of which had lifeguards on duty each day. In addition to the arts, music, workshops and performance programs, The Glenworth Valley Adventure Centre offered a range of activities aimed at helping people enjoy the natural surroundings of the valley. ¹

Peats Ridge Festival was one of the first festivals in the world to promote, and continue to advocate sustainability. It was also the first major Australian event to run solely on renewable energy. Peats Ridge encouraged its suppliers to minimise waste from the festival. For example, stallholders were required to sort their waste into three different types: recycling, compost and general. Scraps were composted, recycling sorted and waste disposed of in a sustainable manner, in accordance with the Festivals guidelines. Just about everything bought or sold at the Festival was either recyclable or compostable. Volunteer staff collected the rubbish and sorted through it before it left the grounds. Though some flooding was known to occur at the site, the festival was generally unaffected by flooding problems. However, the 2007 the festival was cancelled for the only time due to extreme weather. The festival featured many initiatives for running a sustainable event, such as using composting toilets, a rafted reed bed grey water management system, source separated waste streams, composting, the use of low-impact cleaning products, using reclaimed materials for event décor, and a container return system for all drink containers and cups. Other initiatives included: ¹

Eco Living Village As part of the sustainability program, Peats Ridge featured an Eco Living Village, which was an educational space promoting sustainability activities. There was a diverse series of workshops, running across the entire duration of the festival, examining a broad range of sustainability topics, including: waste reduction, grey water management systems, composting, community gardening and improving workplace sustainability. ¹

The Peats Ridge Festival included a program dedicated to Australia's indigenous heritage and featured strong indigenous components within all elements of the program, including music, dance, food, workshops, movie screenings and artworks. An Indigenous Boardi Space was organised and run by the local Darkinjung people, and was dedicated to their stories and culture. Workshops and knowledge sharing sessions were held, examining the stories of the land, bush foods, medicines and culture of Australia's indigenous people. The opening and closing ceremonies of the festival featured elements of Australian indigenous rituals, which are aimed at acknowledging the spirits of the land. ¹

In addition to the dedicated family camping area, the festival featured a children's program. There were three areas that catered for all ages of children: ages 3 to 7, ages 7 to 12, and ages 13 to 17, each with a program filled with art, music, dance, performance and more. The youngest children could enjoy the Rainbow Garden, an under seven's children's play area, puppet shows, face painting, children's yoga, children's theatre, circus skills workshops, and many other children's performances. For young teens aged 13 to 17, the Chillout Lounge featured workshops on song writing, body percussion, cartooning, fashion and jewellery making. In the evenings, the Chillout Lounge was where young people could showcase their talent, and sing, recite, dance, juggle or perform. The Lounge also provided space to relax on couches, paint, and enjoy live performances and DJs. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Peats Ridge Festival”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Peats Ridge Festival is recorded in open cultural data. The structured record cited below does not describe the practice, and this entry has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²