Stuart Park was a place where you were bound to bump into a familiar face on Saturday and Sunday, with around 10,000 people wandering over the lawns.
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Organisers to the Yours and Owls festival estimated more than 5000 ticket sales for each day of the music festival: “punters [coming] from every state, the majority from NSW”.
Dozens of police were seen around the perimeter of the event and on the inside, ensuring it remained a relaxed atmosphere for festival-goers.
Thirty-eight acts played across two stages over the weekend including Illawarra bands Hockey Dad and Shining Bird, as well as international stars The Sonics and Ladyhawke.
A technical issue during Ladyhawke’s set on Saturday night left her band without sound on the main stage, signalling deja vu of last year’s sound issues.
Though the crowd quickly jumped in to help finish the hit “Paris is Burning” shortly before it was all up and running again.
Meantime on the outskirts of the grounds art, gourmet food, artisan stalls and community organisations also caught patrons’ attention.
Kiama artist Mikey Freedom was found with spray-cans, leaving his mark on a side wall of a marquee.
Freedom, the artist behind several large scale murals in the Illawarra, was creating an African themed piece to tie in with the Forever Projects, an organisation that help struggling communities in Tanzania.
“It’s kind of a marriage of art, music and being concerned about other things as well as having a good day,” Freedom said.
It’s the second time Forever Projects have been involved with Yours and Owls, providing food for patrons as well as educating them about their cause.
Director Mark Dombkins said the festival has been a successful way to increase their support base and interact with people they wouldn’t have come across otherwise.
”The cause is about empowering Tanzanian families to set-up a business or some kind of some social enterprise in their communities so they can look after their kids without relying on handouts,” he said.
“We have this phrase ‘what’s in your hands’ because everyone’s good at something and they can leverage that for good and for a cause, as opposed to people just being ‘I can give you money’.”
On Sunday during Aus-rock veterans The Living End’s set some patrons got a little bit excited in the crowd, creating what some people described as a “heavy metal mosh pit”.
Organisers estimate around 2800 hours will have been used in setting up and taking down the festival over a seven day period.
Ben Tillman was unsure of how much waste was created by all the food and drink consumed, though he did know at least “30 pallets of booze” were ordered – most likely all consumed by the festival’s close on Sunday night.