Woodford Folk Festival

12:00am - 11:30pm 1st January 2024

Woodford Folk Festival

Woodfordia, Woodrow Road, Woodford QLD, Australia

Woodford Folk Festival is back! Unleash your inner bohemian as ancient cultures converge into a sensory experience like no other! Woodford Folk Festival is an eclectic annual six-day event held from 27 December to 1 January and it’s a Queensland institution.

What to Expect

Woodfordia’s folk festival exists in a realm of its own, situated on 500-acre parkland on lands of the Jinibara nation.

As you pass through the gates you enter a vibrant world full of action and excitement teeming with colourful and charming characters, intriguing displays, eclectic stalls and captivating performances, radiating vibes of peace, hope and inclusion for all.

The festival embraces the diversity of world culture with hundreds of performances and presentations across the week by local, national and international artists. Woodford celebrates music, dance, theatre, comedy, arts and education, from political lectures to kids’ drumming workshops and everything in between.

Tickets

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW

Ticket options include:

  • Season tickets for the whole Festival experience (27 Dec - 1 Jan), with and without camping
  • Individual day tickets for day trippers, or with camping accommodation for overnight stays

For ticket support contact the box office on 07 5496 1066 between 9am - 5pm (EST) Monday to Friday.

2023/24 Programme

The programme is huge. The festival features more than 2,000 local, national and international artists, musicians and presenters programmed over the six days and night to an audience of over 132,000 people. The festival begins each year with the iconic Opening Ceremony and closes with the spectacular showcase, The Renewal, on New Year's Day. This year, organisers have moved away from the burning of a spectacular fire structure, to a ritual where the village expresses its dreams for the future.

VIEW THE 2023/24 PROGRAM HERE.

What’s on for families?

The venue boasts more than 30 performance venues (more than 20 of which are all-weather venues) featuring wonderfully diverse performances, panels and delights across the 6 days, including:

  • Music, dance, theatre (including street theatre), artistic and comedy performances
  • Art displays
  • Writers’ panels
  • Film, including daily screenings of the Truth Telling Theatrette
  • Folk medicine
  • late night cabarets
  • Parades
  • Art and craft workshops
  • Talks and Ideas forums for social dialogue and debate
  • An environmental programme featuring talks, debates, films and discussion groups with scientists, health professionals, farmers and social justice activists
  • Special events including the final festival eve ceremony, The Renewal (bring a blanket for hillside cushioning)
  • Education – from political lectures to kids’ drumming workshops and everything in between
  • An entire children’s festival
  • Circus performances and workshops
  • And much, much more!

Just Dance!

With so much music in the air, Woodford becomes a day-long dance party. Aside from enjoying a boogie courtesy of the music artist line-up, the festival also has a dance programme for those who wish to dance, which includes traditional folk dance from around the world with the ‘World Folklines’ lineup and dance workshops via the ‘Dance and Movement’ program. Get the inside scoop on how to shake those hips with the allure of a professional belly dancer or elegantly swirl away learning English Vintage dancing. You can literally dance your way through world culture at Woodford!

Woodford’s Children’s Festival

Youth, vitality and creativity are embraced and celebrated at the Children’s Festival, a festival within a festival! This is the place where imagination and play are central to a child's experience of the festival world, with workshops, performances, arts and crafts to keep little hands and minds busy. They can get involved in a recycling craft project, learn to juggle, touch a slimy frog or just sing along to a crazy little tune. It features all sorts of activities kids love!

Education & Discovery

Are you passionate about the environment, sustainable practices and cultural diversity? Woodford Folk Festival offers an enriching educational program. Presentations and discussion groups with scientists, health professionals, farmers and social justice activists are all on the agenda. It’s a community dedicated to the learning and sharing of knowledge for the betterment of all.

Other Things to do and see at Woodford Folk Festival

  • Be dazzled by a menagerie of street performers roaming throughout the festival, bringing the streets to life.
  • Artisan Alley is a living village of creative talent, with artists running workshops for those wanting to learn everything from couture to mask making. It’s a land where everyone is an artist.
  • Always wanted to join the circus? The 'Cirque’ is a program of tumbles, spills and breathtaking beauty. Watch as a dream world becomes a reality. Better yet, try it for yourself at the many workshops on offer at the 'Chelsea'.
  • The 'Evergreens' talks and idea programme will ignite your mind with a sharing of ideas from speakers wide and far, including a favourite face, Costa.
  • The recently expanded 'Luna' stage will have you breathless with laughter as comedians, storytellers and poets weave a tale or two, and then musicians take over to get your feet moving.
  • Celebrating the world’s oldest living culture, First Nation is a program dedicated to foundations of Indigenous culture, from visual arts to traditional dance demonstrations. You can look forward to the launch of Jinibara elder, Uncle Noel's book, A Man on a Mission. Blak Laundry operates each day to wash last nights dancing clothes and also offer a space to talk about all things big and small.
  • Restaurants, cafes, stalls and bars line Woodfordia’s streets offering visitors delicacies from all over the world to dig into.

Accommodation for the Woodford Folk Festival

One of the truly unique aspects of Woodford Folk Festival is the camping. It’s a great way to live and breathe the event 24/7.

Camping is available on site at Woodfordia, with overnight and season packages available. Accessibility camping is also available.

Woodfordia now operates a satellite campground at the Woodford Showgrounds, for powered sites and overnight Tent City camping.

Woodfordia has its own grocery store to top up on supplies, including ice, fresh produce and of course ice-cream.

Don't have a tent? Don't worry, Tent City of Pitch Luxury accommodation is available, although Glamping Tents have sold out for this year.

If you prefer the comfort of solid walls, there are accommodation options at Woodford, D’Aguilar and Stanmore.

The Woodford Festival is a great opportunity to take in the D’Aguilar range and all the local area has to offer. Celebrating our country’s musical, dance and artistic talent, it’s a cultural experience the whole family can enjoy. Learn more about the festival on their website.

Woodford Folk Festival Event Details

When: December 27 - January 1

Where: Woodfordia, 87 Woodrow Road, Woodford

Who: All ages (family-friendly event)

Tickets: Tickets are on sale now. Make sure you book early, numbers are capped. Find your ticketing options here.

More information: Contact Festival Admin: 07 5496 1066 between 9am – 5pm (EST) Monday – Friday. Email info@woodfordfolkfestival.com

Stay up to date with the festival developments by checking their Facebook page HERE.

Programme subject to change

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Acknowledgement of Country - We would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waterways of the Moreton Bay Region, the Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi, Jinibara, and Turrbal people and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise the ongoing connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to this land and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original custodians of this land.