WA's Fairbridge Festival Scores New Home After Shock Cancellation

In November, organisers behind the beloved family-friendly WA music festival, Fairbridge, revealed that the April 2023 event had been cancelled.

The decision arrived as Folkworld announced that the venue site, Fairbridge Village, may no longer be suitable to host a music festival. Drew Dymond, President of FolkWorld Inc., revealed that the board decided to cancel the festival after Fairbridge Western Australia Inc. (Fairbridge WA) – the personnel who manage Fairbridge Village – raised concerns about the event's sustainability.

However, all was not lost, as Dymond revealed that Fairbridge was looking for a new home. “Encouragingly, we have already received some warm and interesting invitations to consider as festival venues, and we would be more than happy to hear from shires and venues who are interested in collaborating to host this unique Western Australian event,” he said.

Today, FolkWorld Inc. General Manager Lloyd Sabin announced the new location for the 2024 edition of Fairbridge Festival, reviving the festival at the Edenvale Heritage Precinct, Pinjarra, from 5-7 April 2024.

It’s the first venue change since Fairbridge’s inception in 1993.

“We are so excited to be holding our much-loved music festival at a fresh new location on the fringe of the Pinjarra township,” Sabin said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to bringing our long-standing Fairbridge Festival community back together again and working with the Shire of Murray and the local community and businesses of Pinjarra to make this a memorable experience.”

Sabin added that, “While the site will look a little different next year, we are bringing back the best of the past with an  eye clearly on the future.”

The new Fairbridge Festival site is located just five kilometres from its original Fairbridge Village locale and is situated less than an hour away from Perth and Bunbury by car.

Shire of Murray President, Councillor David Bolt, added, “We are delighted to be hosting the 2024 Fairbridge Festival to make this a fantastic celebration of music, arts and community.

“We are very pleased that FolkWorld has the confidence in us as a community to deliver such an iconic event on the Western Australian cultural calendar. At the Shire, we look forward to playing our part so the event goes from strength to strength.”

The location change doesn’t come with a festival line-up, but it does come with the announcement that artist applications open on Friday, 1 September and close on Saturday, 30 September.

The 2024 line-up will drop in October, with vendor and volunteer applications opening in November. Tickets will go on sale later this year.