Answered by: Lou Pardi - Marketing & Communications Manager; Diversity, Inclusion & Personal Safety Coordinator
What makes your event stand out from other festivals? Happy Wanderer is a super friendly, perfectly-sized event where you can always find your pals (no doofsticks required) or make new ones. What really sets it apart though is the land, Yin Barun is a really special place with towering gums, a meandering river and the sweetest vibe.
What’s improved for your next event? We've got some great plans for Happy Wanderer 6 - a store with delicious things from locals, a killer line-up of not only music but workshops and performance art. A local sculptor will be completing one of our installations by carving a female face into our beautiful timber sculptures.
Favourite festival ‘Do you remember when…’ moment? A highlight is always the end of the duck race. Punters each adopt a rubber duck, set them free in the river and the current decides a winner. One the bands play at the finish line. Last year it was Whiskey Dram. There was dancing in the river. Excellent.
Which artist – living or dead – would you like to have backstage drinks with? I pretty much fangirl out on our entire line-up. Skyscraper Stan is always good for a yarn, Thando is a straight-up goddess, Kristie McCracken (Meiwa) is maybe the most empathetic angel you'll ever meet, then there's the epic DRMNGNOW folks, and the other-worldly Zoë Fox & The Rocket Clocks.
How is the festival landscape changing? I love how festivals are working together and independently on things like creating safe places and diversity and inclusion. I also love that people who meet at festivals are mobilising to do good. The Burning Man community is the one that gets talked about often, with good reason.
Is there more pressure to create an “Instagrammable” festival? There's no pressure to make Happy Wanderer more insta-worthy. The property is gorgeous as it is, and we don't add selfie-inducing styling. It's not really our vibe, you don't see many people with their phones out at all, and the reception is rubbish anyway. Perfect spot for a digital detox.
How do you go about ensuring your festival is a safe space? We start conversations early if we think someone could be making better decisions. It's really important that if someone has to report something they're confident we'll believe them, so we're intentionally survivor-centred. We brief our teams and have some safe spaces for people who want a break to hang out.
What are your views on pill testing? Do you think it has a place at festivals? I think the festivals that have had pill testing available have been able to provide a great service for their punters and start some really valuable conversations.
