Black Stump Music and Arts Festival

Last updated

Black Stump Music and Arts Festival
DatesOctober Long Weekend
Location(s) Sydney, Australia
Years active1985–2014
Founded byDavid Hogg
Website blackstump.org.au

The Black Stump Music and Arts Festival (called 'Black Stump,' 'Black Stump Festival' or just 'Stump' for short) was a four-day Christian festival that was held in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan region over the Labour Day long weekend, often the first weekend in October, from 1985 to 2014.

Contents

Features

Although the format of the festival changed slightly from year to year, there were some constant features including:

Main Stage (called Big Top 1995-2006, 2011-) - the primary venue used for Saturday morning, Sunday night and Monday Morning Bible Studies, Worship & Music. During the nights it is the venue used for headline and international acts.

Fools Theatre (formerly Off Broadway) - interaction and comedy venue.

Sacred Space - Alternative worship.

The Village - food and service venues and addition performance space.

The Supper Club - small stage for music with cafe style tables and food.

Metro - primary Rock venue

History

Black Stump was held annually since 1985 with the exception of four years: 1987, 1995, 2000 and 2010. [1]

For most of its existence Black Stump has been held at Cataract Scout Park, Appin NSW, Australia and before that at Cattai.

Early history

The first festival was held to coincide with International Youth Year and was inspired by Pebblebrook in New Zealand and the Greenbelt Festival in the UK. It was organised by individuals from Baptist, Church of Christ, Uniting and Anglican churches as well as other youth orientated Christian organizations.

The first and second festivals were held in 1985 and 1986 at Cattai [1] (at the former Paradise Gardens site).

From 1988 it was then held at Cataract Scout Park until 2007.

Gap years

The festival was not held in 1987 in order to plan to make it a regular festival, and to plan the relocation to Cataract Scout Park.

The intended 1995 festival was cancelled due to a significant financial shortfall resulting from the 1994 festival.

The festival was not held in 2000 because the Sydney Olympics ended on the October Long weekend.

The festival was not held in 2010 due to projected ticket sales being too low to meet increasing operating costs at the venue.

Equestrian Centre years

In 2008, Black Stump moved to the Sydney International Equestrian Centre in Horsley Park, due to ageing facilities at Cataract Scout Camp. From 2011 Black Stump returned to a rejuvenated Cataract Scout Park.

Beyond Festival

After the final Black Stump in 2014, some of its organizers went on to launch Beyond Festival. Considered the successor to Black Stump, but with an emphasis on promoting social justice from a Christian standpoint, Beyond Festival has been held at Greenhills Centre in Canberra on the Labour Day long weekend (first weekend in October) in 2015 and 2016. It was not held in 2017, with the next festival to take place at Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales on 23–25 November 2018.

Notable performers

Many artists have appeared at Black Stump and then gone onto wide popularity in the Christian or secular world. These include the Newsboys, Priority Paid, Rebecca St James, David Butts (Hooley Dooleys), Tim Harding (Hi-5), Sarah Blasko, Butterfly Boucher and Paul Colman. [1] Tommy Emmanuel, In The Silence, Steve Taylor. Whiteheart, Quick and the Dead (Danger UXB),

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenbelt Festival</span> British arts festival founded in 1974

Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown out of an evangelical Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young people into its current form, a more inclusive festival attended at its peak around 2010 by around 20,000, including Christians and those from other faiths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V Festival</span> British music festival

V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, is an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one location on Saturday and then swapped on Sunday. The sites were located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in South Staffordshire. In 2017, the final year of this format, the capacity of each site was 90,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parachute music festival</span> Musical artist

Parachute Music Festival was a Christian music festival held annually in New Zealand between 1992 - 2014. Originally starting in Waikanae, the event moved to Matamata in 1995, and then finally to Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand where it was held from 2004 - 2014. The three-day festival was run by Parachute Music, and ran annually in late January, on the weekend before Auckland Anniversary Day,. The event was one of the largest Christian music festivals outside of the United States and it was one of the largest multi-day festivals in the Southern Hemisphere. As well as musicians, it also featured guest speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Motorsport Park</span> Motorsport track in New South Wales, Australia

Sydney Motorsport Park is a motorsport circuit located on Brabham Drive, Eastern Creek, New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the Western Sydney International Dragway. It was built and is owned by the New South Wales Government and is operated by the Australian Racing Drivers Club. The circuit is one of only two permanent tracks in Australia with an FIA Grade 2 license and is licensed for both cars and motorcycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer festival</span> Event with a variety of beers available

A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.

The National Folk Festival (NFF) is a longstanding, Australian family friendly celebration of all aspects of folk music and culture. It is held every year at Easter in the national capital, Canberra.

Kolkata has many festivals throughout the year. Durga Puja is the largest festival of West Bengal, and it features colourful pandals, decorative idols of Hindu goddess Durga and her family, lighting decorations and fireworks. Other major festivals are Diwali, Kali Puja, Holi, Saraswati Puja, Poush Parbon, Poila Boishakh, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, etc.

The Australian Scout Jamboree is a jamboree which is held every three years by Scouts Australia. The Jamboree is traditionally held in early January and typically runs for ten nights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Stump</span> Australian expression

Black stump is an Australian expression for an imaginary point beyond which the country is considered remote or uncivilised, an abstract marker of the limits of established settlement. The origin of the expression, especially in its evolved use as an imaginary marker in the landscape, is contested. The various claims are discussed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memphis in May</span> Month-long festival in Tennessee, US

Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting Ghana in 2022, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The Beale Street Music Festival takes place the first weekend in May and showcases an eclectic lineup of national and local musical talent. International Week is a series of exhibits, screenings, arts and performances dedicated to each year's honored country. The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest has become one of the most popular barbecue contests in the country and has been observed for 45 years. The Great American River Run Half Marathon & 5K welcomes runners of all experience levels through the streets of Memphis and along the banks of the Mississippi River, while 901Fest includes a salute to all things Memphis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand music festivals</span>

Music festivals have a long and chequered history in New Zealand. The first large outdoor rock music festivals were Redwood 70 in 1970 and the Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival in 1973. The largest was the 1979 Nambassa festival, one of several Nambassa festivals held around that time, in Golden Valley, just north of Waihi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsong Conference</span> Annual Christian conference in Sydney, Australia

Hillsong Conference is a mid-year week-long annual Christian conference hosted in Sydney, Australia, with a smaller three-day event held in London later each year. It is the largest annual conference in Australia of any kind. The event is hosted by Hillsong Church at the Qudos Bank Arena and surrounding Olympic Park precinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Great Escape (festival)</span>

The Great Escape was a music festival held at Newington Armory, located within Sydney Olympic Park that took place in 2006 and 2007. Initially held over the Easter long weekend for the first two events, in 2008 it was announced the festival would take place on the Labour Day weekend, however the event was cancelled 2 months from the date due to poor ticket sales. It evolved from the 2005 Cockatoo Island Music Festival. The music and other attractions run over three full days, with some patrons camping from Thursday evening to Monday morning. Punters could attend either for the full weekend camping, purchase a 3-day pass and commute each day or attend a single day. Many acts also played the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival the same weekend, however The Great Escape line-up is more diverse featuring pop, hip hop, electronic and rock acts that would not fit into a Blues and Roots line-up. In addition to musical acts, there is also a wide range of other features such as comedy acts, bingo and trivia, conspiracy theory talks and yoga. There is no immediate future for the Great Escape at this point, but organisers are confident it will be resurrected in the near future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wooddale Church</span> Church in Minnesota, United States

Wooddale Church is a Baptist multi-site evangelical Christian church located in Eden Prairie, Edina and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with Converge and the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian music festival</span>

A Christian music festival is a music festival held by the Christian community, in support of performers of Christian music. The festivals are characterized by more than just music; many feature motivational speakers and evangelists, and include seminars on Christian spiritual and missions topics, service, and evangelism. They are often viewed as evangelical tools, and small festivals can draw 10 times the crowd of traditional revival meetings. While the central theme of a Christian festival is Jesus Christ, the core appeal of a Christian music festival remains the artists and their music. Critics point out that the dichotomy of business and religious interests can be problematic for Christian festivals. In similar ways as the Christian music industry in general, festivals can be drawn away from their central theme and gravitate toward commercialization and mainstream acts in an attempt to draw crowds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World's Funniest Island</span>

World's Funniest Island was an Australian comedy event held on the third weekend in October on Cockatoo Island, in Sydney Harbour. The first World's Funniest Island event took place 17–18 October 2009. It consisted of approximately 200 shows and involving over 250 performers in 12 indoor venues, and three outdoor stages, playing to 12,000 punters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada's Largest Ribfest</span> Annual food festival in Ontario, Canada

Canada's Largest Ribfest is the name of an annual ribfest food festival held in Spencer Smith Park by the lake shore in Burlington, Ontario. The Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Club organizes the four-day-long Ribfest to raise money for charity during the Labour Day weekend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Festivals in Atlanta</span> Festivals in Atlanta

Atlanta's mild climate and plentiful trees allow for festivals and events to take place in the city year-round. One of the city's most popular events is the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, an arts and crafts festival held in Piedmont Park each spring, when the native dogwoods are in bloom. Atlanta Streets Alive, inspired by the ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia, closes city streets to car traffic to allow people to participate in health and community-oriented, such as bicycling, strolling, skating, people-watching, tango, yoga, hula hooping, and break dancing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defqon.1 Festival</span> Annual music festival in the Netherlands

Defqon.1 Weekend Festival is an annual music festival held in the Netherlands. In the past, it was also held in Chile and Australia. Founded in 2003 by festival organizer Q-dance, the festival plays mostly hardstyle and related genres such as hardcore, early and classic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairfield Showground</span>

Fairfield Showground is a multi-purpose indoor-outdoor venue situated in Prairiewood, New South Wales, Australia. Since in the 1970s, it has been a popular venue for multicultural festivals, horse racing, carnivals, markets and club meets attracting as many as 20,000 people. Situated in western Sydney, the showground has around 10,000 sqm of undercover exhibition space and it is overall 33 hectares in size, with parking spaces for over 600 vehicles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cusic, Don, ed. (2010), Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship, Greenwood Publishing, p. 175, ISBN   978-0-313-34426-8