The much-loved Newtown Festival has had a facelift after 38 years.
Event director Gill Minervini is part of the new team charged with delivering its new look. Formerly creative director of City of Sydney Events, she’s also had a hand in Winter Feast for Dark Mofo and Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. For her, Newtown Festival offered more than just a convenient geographical location for her work.
“I’ve been to the festival many times,” she says. “This is my first year as director. They’ve had the same director for 15 years. This job came up in my own hood and I felt compelled to give it a crack. The festival has reached a turning point – it’s time to move into the next generation.
“It’s got all the elements I’m interested in. With all due respect to the smaller neighbourhood festivals, they’re terrific, but Newtown is special. It’s a number of festivals rolled into one. It’s a community event with a hell of a pulse.”
The festival not only feels bigger this year, it is bigger. This year’s program boasts over 30 acts, 40 food stalls, five bars and 300 market stalls.
“It could be so much bigger but we’re restricted by space,” says Minervini. “We’re using Federation Road and Lennox Street as chill-out areas and we’ve played with the layout a little bit, trying to make the space user-friendly. It is bigger, yet it’s as big as it will probably ever be. We eventually might need to find additional real estate for it. I’d love to close King Street – the police haven’t said no completely, so that’s a good sign.”
Celebrating 38 years in an incredible milestone for any event, but especially for festivals, with one seemingly dying off every summer. A lot of residents have grown up with Newtown Festival and are now getting to experience it full circle – and the fact is not lost on Minervini.
“The 16-to-85-year-old music fans are catered for but a lot of residents have kids, so the kids’ zone has to be interesting for the parents as well. You might once have been the 18-year-old at the Federation Stage and now you’re the 38-year-old enjoying music at the Young Hearts stage with your kids.
“It’s about creating an experiential atmosphere. There’s the writers’ tent and four stages this year and everyone’s favourite, the dog show. Clichéd I know, but there’s genuinely something for everyone.”
Newtown Festival is one of the longest-running and largest community festivals in Sydney, and for most it is essentially free with only a pesky gold coin donation required for entry. It occurred to Minervini that not many people actually knew where their donations went, creating a reluctance to donate.
“It’s a giant fundraiser and no one really knew that – to be truthful I didn’t know either. I wanted to publicise that. Every single dollar goes towards helping stop Inner West homelessness through the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre’s First Response Program. The festival funds an office that helps people get a roof over their head. As soon as that is explained the response is overwhelmingly generous. It’s a great reflection of how welcoming Newtown can be.”
The music lineup this year is the festival’s biggest. While it’s always being a vibrant program, Minervini and her team really wanted to open the floor to emerging, local and established artists alike.
“I’ve worked with some fantastic programmers like Kristy Pinder [Sydney Festival, Perth International Arts Festival] and Nathan Farrell [Newtown Festival]. We didn’t want to alienate our existing audience but I also want to stretch people’s comfort zones just a little bit. We got nearly 300 applications and listened to every single one of them. It’s a mix of that and curated [artists].
“Every band and performer plays for nothing at the festival. It’s pretty admirable of them to do this. It took us from May until September to finalise that list, but I love that the Federation Stage goes from Richard In Your Mind to All Our Exes Live In Texas to Stereogamous to L-Fresh The Lion.”
For those who love food, there is more than your share of cuisines to indulge in. Minervini and her team worked closely with Newtown Locals to curate a unique and above all delicious experience.
“The Newtown Locals is a collective of places like Bloodwood, Stanbuli, Continental Deli, Marys and 212 Blu. They do special food for the event. No meal is over ten bucks. The dream is to eventually have all food stalls at the festival be operated by locals.”
As a locale, Newtown has a powerful voodoo that entices the quirky and creative. The residents are loud and proud of the neighbourhood they’re a part of. The festival remains intent to be a vibrant reflection of everyday life in Newtown.
“I moved here from Adelaide 30 years ago haven’t really strayed that far,” says Minervini. “I live in Erskineville now. The Sydney Morning Herald did a survey that showed more creatives live in the Newtown area than anywhere else in Australia. With that melting pot you get a great atmosphere of acceptance and warmth. I know I’m proud of that.
“With costs rising, the creative hearts of areas are being pushed out, and it is happening in Newtown, but its soul is still strong. This area is fantastic, so it’s us showing off where we live in the most inclusive way possible.”
Photo: Adam Scarf
Newtown Festival 2016 takes over Camperdown Memorial Rest Park this Sunday November 13 from 9:30am until 5:30pm. For the full program, visit the official website.
