By David Russell
Overhear a South Australian describing their state to someone who has never been and it’s likely they’ll describe Adelaide as being ‘taken over’ or ‘inhabited’ by festivals in March. It’s a stereotype that was validated last night (Wednesday 18 November) at the Australian Event Awards in Sydney, where South Australia took out the State or Territory Award.
There was no other horse in the race; more festival tickets are sold in South Australia than in all other states combined. And while the Adelaide Fringe Festival is responsible for a large portion of those sales, it was two other Adelaide events that were also honoured at the awards.
Adelaide Writers Festival Director Laura Kroetsch receiving the award.
Adelaide Writers’ Week won Best Community Event after attracting massive crowds, big name writers and a record increase in book sales. WOMADelaide was also recognised, receiving the Best Cultural, Arts or Music Event award.
WOMADelaide Director Ian Scobie told Inside South Australia the festival holds a special place in the hearts of visitors who attend each year.
“Until you are there soaking up the atmosphere it’s hard to get a sense of it,” he said.
“But one of the things that always amazes me is the extent to which audiences become personally touched by it… people get a lot out of it; it’s like a cultural recharge.”
The breadth of the program across music, dance, art and food is crucial, says Ian, but so too in the location of the festival.
“We’re very lucky in having the ability to stage the festival in Botanic Park, which has a unique botanical collection and is a pretty special place.
“(WOMADelaide) is also in the centre of the city… a lot of the visitors who come enjoy that because they can walk from their accommodation and (can) come in and out of the festival environment.
“(And) it happens within the content of the Adelaide Festival and the Adelaide Fringe… you can’t come to Adelaide in that time and not be affected by it.”
It’s that level of immersion that Ian says makes Adelaide one of the world’s great festival cities, along with places like Edinburgh in the UK and Avignon in France.
“They are cities that have a geographic centre and a place that can become animated and quite special.
“If you look at the Garden of Unearthly Delights, the Royal Croquet Club and places around the Festival Centre… they are spaces that can be transformed in a way that makes people pay attention. I think that is one of the absolute keys to Adelaide’s festival success.”
WOMADelaide 2015 attracted a record 95,000 festival-goers over four days, with forty per cent of visitors coming from interstate or overseas.