Surry Hills Festival Moves Home Under New Management
Surry Hills Festival Moves Home Under New Management
The newly refurbished Prince Alfred Park will welcome back the Surry Hills Festival this year, on Saturday 27 October 2012 when thousands of culture lovers will converge on the inner city oasis for the return of the much-loved one day event.
The Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre (SHNC), the owners of the event, have appointed leading festival organisers The Festival Company to manage and rejuvenate the iconic inner city festival, and to work alongside them to help showcase the vibrant and creative community that exists in and around Surry Hills.
The Festival Company are better known for their work producing Peats Ridge, one of Australia’s most-loved camping festivals that is held annually over New Years, and they will be bringing the same unique creative and organisational flair exhibited at Peats Ridge to management of the Surry Hills Festival.
Peats Ridge 2011 was a great success and saw multi-award winning Gotye welcoming in the New Year with 10,000 people. The event featured a live stream on YouTube that clocked upwards of 660,000 hits, an Australian first. The Festival Company’s commitment to community, sustainability, music and arts make them a natural fit for the Surry Hills Festival.
TFC Director Matt Grant says “We’re extremely excited to be working with The Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre on producing this heritage event. We are committed to producing the best Surry Hills Festival yet and already have many exciting ideas in planning for the event. In consultation with SHNC, we’ve decided to move the date back to late October so we can make the most of the Prince Alfred Park reopening”
He also hinted at a second, alternative event to be produced in April 2013, but remained tight lipped about the details. “We have signed a 3 year contract with the SHNC to manage two events a year, the Surry Hills Festival will be the first and we will be releasing details of the second event later in the year” he said.
With a focus on celebrating community, the Surry Hills Festival hosts a brilliant showcase of music, art installations, theatre, markets, the ever popular dog show and much, much more, all condensed into one of Sydney’s most colourful and eccentric suburbs.
The Surry Hills Festival is produced by the Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre as a major fundraiser for the Centre’s community services. SHNC Manager, Gillian Elliott says “The Festival is more than just showcasing the great community of Surry Hills to wider Sydney; it’s about raising much needed funds that go back into helping provide support for the people of Surry Hills.”
“The Festival Company are innovators when it comes to putting on great events and very much in line with our key values. We’re thrilled to be involved with them in welcoming an exciting new era for the Surry Hills Festival” says Elliott.
Past years of the Festival have seen hot Aussie music acts like Tin Sparrow, Lanie Lane and Jinja Safari all grace the stage. The festival market stalls offer a fantastic array of items from local designers and artists, as well as ethical products, funky pet wear, and delicacies from around the world.
Put it in the diary, jot it on the calendar, write it on your hand – the Surry Hills Festival is coming!
What: Surry Hills Festival
When: Saturday, 27 October 2012
Where: Prince Alfred Park
What time: 9.30am – onwards
