With record crowds of 440,000, the 2016 St Kilda Festival has proven to be one of the most successful years in the Festival’s rich history. The 11th annual Yalukit Wilum Ngargee opened the St Kilda Festival program last Saturday 6 February in O’Donnell Gardens where crowds enjoyed an all-star line up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians and artists including Bart Willoughby, Philly and Alice Skye. Festival-goers flocked to the bayside suburb to enjoy the premier line up including Client Liaison, The Grates, Hayden James, The Beards, Felix Reibl and Bad//Dreems.
City of Port Phillip Mayor Bernadene Voss is thrilled that Council has delivered another highly successful event in the heart of St Kilda.
“St Kilda Festival continues to one of the most popular events on the Melbourne calendar with hundreds of thousands of festival-goers of all ages flocking to our beautiful city to celebrate the Australian music industry” Councillor Voss said.
Councillor Voss explained that music lovers enjoyed a wide range of acts across multiple stages including the popular New Music Stage, showcasing 10 unsigned acts with the crowd voting on their favourite to win $5,000 cash, $1,500 worth of Klipsch products and a coveted spot on the St Kilda Festival Main Stage in 2017. The voting is still open to the public and closes Friday 19 February.
“We’re proud to once again present this iconic Melbourne event, but the Festival wouldn’t be possible without the brilliant artists and performers we work with every year, sponsors, staff, volunteers and of course, the revellers who join us each and every year to support our home-grown talent.” Councillor Voss commented.