This article was published in The Standard on December 14, 2022.
PORT Fairy Folk Festival has won a state music industry award, with director Justin Rudge saying it is “amazing”.
The Folkie won Music Victoria Awards‘ publicly voted best regional festival category with the winners announced at a ceremony in Melbourne on Tuesday.
“Port Fairy can sometimes miss out on these industry awards,” Mr Rudge said.
“To be recognised by the music industry specifically is really fantastic for the festival, being up against other such great festivals. It was a hard year with some of them not running.
“It’s very exciting and gives us another push through to the 2023 festival really.”
He said the win not only celebrated the 2022 festival, but the public’s loyalty for the past 45 years.
“You can’t underestimate the huge community it takes to put the festival on,” Mr Rudge said.
“It takes almost 1000 people to put it on, all of whom are appreciated as we need them all.
“One of the wonderful things about the 2022 festival was the partnership with the Archie Roach Foundation.
“He was a very important part of the festival who we have since lost.”
Mr Rudge said he believed patrons attended Folkie for its unique set-up, operation and music styling.
He said credit should be given to the festival’s previous directors Jamie McKew and Caroline Moore, the artists, production, contractors, Moyne Shire Council, Creative Victoria and Festivals Australia.
On the festival’s website, Folkie founding director Jamie McKew said the plot for the iconic festival was hatched in August 1977 at the Bush Inn Hotel in Geelong by the small group who had restarted the Geelong Folk Music Club in May that year.
He suggested his grandmother’s hometown to host it – Port Fairy. It ran that December and has since seen 2000 acts on the stage featuring about 8000 artists.
Lillian Altman 