Festival Places

Chris Gibson is Professor in Human Geography at the University of Wollongong. John Connell is Professor of Geography at the University of Sydney. For well over a decade they have been researching and writing about music, tourism and festivals in Australia and beyond. More recently they were part of a team undertaking Australia’s largest ever study of rural festivals, with 480 festivals participating in the research. Insights from that research project feature throughout this book.John Connell is Professor of Geography and Head of the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney. His research interests span mobility, tourism, music and place identities. He has published widely on urbanisation, migration, and tourism. His books Sydney: Emergence of a World City (Oxford University Press, 2000) and Small Worlds, Global Lives: Islands and Migration (Pinter, 1999).

Festival Places is a rich and diverse collection of studies of the function of the cultural festival in constructing place and community in rural Australia. While deeply grounded in its individual case studies, the mix of disciplines and methodologies demonstrate the value of continually seeking new ways to perform cultural research. This is both a fascinating and an extremely useful book.

• ContributorsPrefaceSection 1: Exploring rural festivalsChapter 1: The extent and significance of rural festivals - Chris Gibson, John Connell, Gordon Waitt and Jim WalmsleyChapter 2: Histories of agricultural shows and rural festivals in Australia - Kate Darian-SmithChapter 3: Rural festivals and processes of belonging - Michelle Duffy and Gordon WaittSection 2: Nuts and bolts: Making festivals happenChapter 4: Local leadership and rural renewal through festival fun: the case of SnowFest - Amanda DaviesChapter 5: Economic benefits of rural festivals and questions of geographical scale: the Rusty Gromfest surf carnival - Patricia TindallChapter 6: Greening rural festivals: ecology, sustainability, and human-nature relations - Chris Gibson and Colleen WongSection 3: Politics and place: Culture, nature and colonialismChapter 7: Performing culture as political strategy: the Garma Festival, Northeast Arnhem Land - Peter PhippsChapter 8: ‘Our Spirit Rises from the Ashes’: Mapoon festival and History’s shadow - Lisa SlaterChapter 9: Birthday parties and flower shows, musters and multiculturalism: festivals in post-war Gympie - Robert EdwardsChapter 10: On display: Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show and the assembly of place - Robyn MayesSection 4: Reinventing ruralityChapter 11: Elvis in the country: transforming place in rural Australia - John Connell and Chris GibsonChapter 12: Marketing a sustainable rural utopia: the evolution of a community festival - Matthew W. Rofe and Hilary P.M. WinchesterChapter 13: ChillOut: a festival ‘out’ in the country - Gordon Waitt and Andrew Gorman-MurraySection 5: Festival peopleChapter 14: Bring in your washing: family circuses, festivity and rural Australia - Andrea LemonChapter 15: Culturing commitment: serious leisure and the folk festival experience - Robbie BeggChapter 16: Tartans, kilts and bagpipes: cultural identity and community creation at the Bundanoon is Brigadoon Scottish festival - Brad Ruting and Jen LiChapter 17: What is Wangaratta to jazz? The (re)creation of place, music and community at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival - Rebecca Anne Curtis