Photo via assistnews.net

Australian Christian Festival celebrates 10th Birthday

Australia’s largest Christian festival, Easterfest, which was previously called the Australian Gospel Music Festival (AGMF), was held from Good Friday through to Resurrection Sunday, in the Australian Eastern state of Queensland, reports Kevin Hooper, special to ASSIST News Service. The name of the festival was changed this year for the 10th annual festival, to more broadly reflect the nature of this popular Christian music, teaching and lifestyle festival.

Held at Easter every year for the past ten years, this event draws more than 30,000 people from every state of Australia, as well as New

Zealand and other South Pacific nations, to the beautiful inland garden city of Toowoomba, in Australia’s second largest state, Queensland.

The festival features music, bands, solo artists, poets, speakers and lots of family-friendly fun, and is officially Australia’s largest alcohol and drug free event. Local police love the event, and actually ask to be rostered on duty for the Easter long weekend, as there is so little trouble n the city during that weekend. No-one has ever been evicted in the ten year history of the event and the police are so impressed, that they now man a police recruitment stand in the festival expo tent, along with the other exhibitors of mostly Christian resources, music and clothing.

Featuring mostly Australian artists, with a few headline acts from overseas, this year’s event headlined three bands from the USA: MXPX, Newsboys and Jars of Clay. Canadian band “newworldson” made a huge impact and won thousands of new fans with their unique entertainment, strong Christian message, and their highly skilled musicianship. Fans are keen to see them return for future events. Made up of top session musicians, this band came together for a tour of the USA in support of Newsboys, and now they have become a full-time Christian band, touring the world.

Newsboys were originally an Australian band, starting on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of Queensland, about 100 miles from the festival sight, before moving to the USA over twenty years ago. The local Queensland fans made them feel really welcome, as the patriotism of the band shone through in their entire set. On Saturday night, they excelled with a superb concert under a clear moonlit sky in the outdoor amphitheater of Queens Park (the venue for Easterfest). The band’s time on main stage included a strong Gospel message from front man Peter Furler, and a fantastic drum duo between Furler (who was the original drummer in the band), and current Newsboys drummer, Duncan Phillips. Newsboys delighted their long-time fans (like this writer), and won heaps of new younger fans, as their superb set appealed to all ages.

I could see hundreds of kids dancing and waving to the music in front of the stage, whilst their parents stood at a safer distance up on the hill, swaying and tapping their feet to their favorite songs, some of which were over twenty years old. The most amazing thing to this writer was the evident enthusiasm that each of the band members put into their set, playing old and new songs with the same gusto, and not taking their audience for granted for even a second. No wonder they are winning new fans, after playing their enthusiastic style of music around the world for over twenty years.

Each year, the camp sites, that are also established in Queens Park, seem to attract the same families back, plus legions of new folk, as it makes for cheap and convenient accommodation, right next to the festival grounds. Little communities crop up, as folk from previous years set up next to the friends that they made in previous years. I spoke with some of the campers who told me that they have been coming to the festival for years, and they enjoy their times of fellowship with their camping neighbours, as much as they enjoy the festival itself.

They said rain, hail, or shine, they would not miss Easterfest, and they book at this year’s festival for next year, and do the same year after year. The camping area is divided into two distinct areas, one for families, where families of all ages including babies may feel comfortable, and where many folk get up early for fellowship over breakfast. The other camping area is for youth groups (located nearer to the late night entertainment tents), where the campers seem to stay up late, and then sleep-in each morning. Each area is patrolled by security guards at night, but rarely have they had to act on any complaints, as the youth are generally so well behaved.

More speakers were introduced at this year’s Easterfest, with a wider variety of topics, and many up and coming Christian bands were able to make their first or second appearance at Easterfest, on some of the smaller stages located throughout the festival grounds. One band that really impressed their audience was Brisbane-based band Nainby, who made their second appearance this year, and won heaps of new fans with their tight harmonies, clever lyrics, and fine musicianship. Nainby, who have already released their first CD n Australia on their own label, have been fielding interest from both Australian and US record companies, and lead singer Emma Nainby says they are seriously considering opportunities in the USA, following a short visit there last year.

During the festival, the Vision Radio Network (314 stations nationwide and still growing), broadcast live each day from their outside broadcast facility in the middle of the festival site, with regular interviews and reports from Easterfest going out to their listeners from one end of the country to the other. This live broadcast was also heard over Toowoomba’s local Christian radio station, 92.9FM The Light, allowing campers and other festival attendees to be even more involved and informed, as a stream of musicians and speakers dropped by each day for a chat with Vision’s popular radio personalities.

Easterfest CEO, Isaac Moody, photo via assistnews.net

Festival Chairman and local businessman, Ian Andersen, and Festival CEO Isaac Moody, both agreed that they could see that the fresh thrust

of this year’s festival, along with the new name, had brought a new momentum to the festival that had not been there in previous years. They were both delighted with the extra success of this year’s festival, which now lays a good foundation for future years, and they were both quick to thank the teams of volunteers and the festival sponsors who made this year’s event possible. They were also keen to give all the glory for the ultimate success of Easterfest to their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and they were thankful to the local churches and authorities who make the festival possible each year.

These two men are very committed to see Easterfest continue for many years to come, and the attendees say they will come back again and again, as there is no other event like it in Australia. Easterfest 09 is already being planned, and organizers are open to hear from potential speakers and artists, and from folk keen to attend next year’s event.

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[03/27/2008]

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