Epidemic 09
Infinite Entertainment, Wyndham's FReeZA group, lived up to its name when it hosted its largest ever music event in March 2009 - Epidemic 09!
Epidemic 09 treated the young people of Wyndham to an impressive lineup of awesome bands playing non-stop over two stages. From 2pm-10pm on Saturday 21 March, the fully supervised drug, alcohol and smoke free event gave young people the chance to get up close and personal with their favourite bands.
Organising the eight-hour show was a monster task and required the team effort of all the kids in Infinite Entertainment, FReeZA worker Stewart Greig, and Ball Breaker Studios. We learnt a lot along the way, which I'm happy to share with you now!
Getting the word out
Such a large show demanded a large promotional effort to raise awareness and encourage young people to come along. We arranged for an Epidemic news release for our local newspaper, the Werribee Banner, which was a very effective way of raising awareness in the wider community. MySpace also played a large part of our promotional effort, as we dedicated our Infinite Entertainment page (new window) to our Epidemic show.
Our posters and flyers were designed by a graphic designer, so they looked very professional and gave our event credibility too. We drove all over neighbourhood and surrounding areas, approaching business to display our poster in their shop windows. We targeted high-traffic areas where young people would hang out, such as shopping centres, schools, skate parks, and even local recording studios.
We were fortunate to have our own stall at our local Werribee Plaza shopping centre before the Epidemic show. We displayed Youth Services information and plenty of promotional Epidemic material.
Plenty to do at Epidemic
We decided early on to have a market stall area because we were expecting several hundred people for Epidemic. It was my job to find suitable vendors - which proved harder than we first thought, because many potential stall holders had prior commitments for Saturdays.
On the day of the show we sold merchandise from all the bands that were in our lineup. We also had stalls for cupcakes, badges, jewellery, T-shirts and local production company Fiasco Productions.
Being at one show for eight hours is a very long time for young people. To give them a chance to have a break we set up a movie room away from the stages. It had plenty of chairs and cushions, and screened movies all day.
Showtime!
It was great seeing all of our hard work coming together for the big event. On the day of the show there was a little bit of last-minute rushing around, but everything came together smoothly because everyone concentrated on the job they were allocated.
We were very pleased that several hundred people came to enjoy our impressive show. We even attracted some older people to come watch our fantastic lineup!
Over eight hours 13 bands played non-stop over two stages. Lovers of homegrown music were treated to an amazing lineup of bands.
The Broderick, Addison, A Process Of, and Obsidieth belted out their heavy melodic tunes. Electrik Dynamite, The Scissor File, and the local Girl Vs Ghost were among crowd favorites.
Supporting local acts also included The Midnight Mass, The Life, Kid Fisto, Yorke, and the 2008 Western Metropolitan Push Start winners Grooveshot.
By the time headliners Mammal took to the stage, the crowd had dwindled, but that did not stop them from putting on an amazingly energetic and engaging performance. Front man Ezekiel Ox leapt off the stage and danced with audience, who were clearly delighted to be treated to such an experience.
Epidemic 09 rocked as a community event and was a great learning experience for all the young people in Infinite Entertainment. We will use the valuable experience to make our next shows even better.
For more information about your local FReeZA group, check out www.freeza.vic.gov.au.
Photos in this article are used with permission from Glenn Valencich (http://flickr.com/photos/glenn-v)
Articles Written by Ruth
Reviews written by Ruth
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