The team behind Falls Festival has announced a new three-day camping festival with a difference at the Werribee Mansion. Planned for the Melbourne Cup long weekend in October, The Lost Lands festival is not just a music festival, the line-up includes an impressive combination of theatre performances, comedy and fun interactive activities. The kicker is, while most camping festivals are strictly 18+ affairs, The Lost Lands will be a family-friendly event that not only allows kids to attend but will allow the entire family to get in on the activities together.
Founded by Falls Festival founder Simon Daly, The Lost Lands aims to prove that people with kids don't need to give up their love of camping festivals. The kid-friendly activities program include a discussion event for kids aged 8-12 years titled Small People, Big Questions, dancing classes for toddlers, theatrical comedy shows and plenty of hands-on activities kids and parents alike can get involved with. There will also be plenty of opportunities to get out and about: festivalgoers will be able to go on guided walks, bike rides and even day trips to the nearby Werribee Open Range Zoo.
Here's who you'll be boogieing to over three days of fun at The Lost Lands:
- Mariachi El Bronx
- The Waifs
- Olympia
- Missy Higgins
- CW Stoneking
- Ozomatil
- Architecture in Helsinki
- The Grates
- Tim Rogers with the Bamboos
- Tash Sultana
- Harts
- Ali Barter
- Pounded by the Surf
- Nicky Bomba
- Ainslie Wills
- Alex Lahey
- The Little Stevies
- The Royal Jellies
While The Lost Lands is a camping festival, you won't exactly be roughing it at the Werribee Mansion grounds. Glamping options are available if you like to camp with all your creature comforts, and the general camping areas will fit two adults and up to four children. If you'd rather sleep in a comfy bed over the two nights, the Werribee Park Mansion Hotel will be taking in bookings for festival punters. Even the food and drink offering is serious business – grown-ups will have access to craft beefs, an onsite distillery and cracking wines, while primo food vendors mean that you won't have to resort to a diet of hot chips.
While the death of the behemoth, electronic music festivals and the growth of more boutique experiences has been well documented, it appears that Melbourne is seeing a new kind of music festivals evolve that aims to target parents who perhaps used to frequent festivals like Golden Plains and Falls Festival, but now have a bub or two in tow. The popularity of laid-back festivals like So French So Chic among families, as well as last summer's launch of Piknic Electronik with its Petit Piknik line-up for kids, showed how there's a market for family-friendly festival experiences, and we have a feeling that we'll only be seeing more of these events to come in the future.
Tickets to The Lost Lands at Werribee Park (Friday 28 October - Sunday 30 October) are available now.