After seven years held in the jungle hills surrounding Coffs Harbour, electronic-music festival Rabbits Eat Lettuce will migrate in 2015 to its new home at Woodfordia on the Sunshine Coast.
In 2015 Artofficial Entertainment welcomes you back to REL to socialise, to smile, to talk, to camp, to create, to learn, to eat, to sleep, but most of all to party and dance to some sexy EDM in the beautiful Australian wilderness this Easter, long weekend (3-6 April). The event's promoter, Erik Lamar, discusses the 2015 event and the move north to a new location.
The history of Rabbits Eat Lettuce… how did it start, and how has it grown during the past seven years?
The event started as a underground 'doof' party on Easter Long Weekend in the hills of Coffs Harbour, NSW. Over the years it slowly grew and evolved to become a multi-night festival. Due to that gradual, natural evolution the people that come to Rabbits Eat Lettuce have remained true to the vibe of the event. We are really excited to see how far we can push things.
The move to Woodfordia… what prompted the change of location?
The local, NSW Police were trying to get us to pay them $80,000 to have a permanent, police presence at the festival. This was putting too much strain on our budget and forced us to find an alternative. We looked at other case examples of paid-police presence at festivals and for the expected attendance this quote seemed incredibly inflated. The Woodfordia venue has opened its arms to us. We are really stoked to bring the festival to such an established and comfortable, outdoor-festival venue. It allows us to focus more energy on the production and the fun stuff :)
With the new site, will you be adding new features/ zones to previous year's events?
Yes. We have created two new, stage concepts for the event: The Lotus Temple (the dancefloor will actually become a gigantic, lotus flower) and the Rabbit Hole Stage. Topped off with a silent disco and a roving art car (influenced by Burning Man).
Rabbits Eat Lettuce 2015 line-up… tell us a bit about who you've drafted to perform?
Our line-up this year is massive! We probably went a bit crazy. There are over 100 artists from all over the world and Australia! We have something for everyone: smooth disco and deep house from Aeroplane and Wild Culture, funky, glitch-hop from the likes of Opiuo, K+Lab and Farfetchd, hard-hitting techno from Jay Lumen and some tribal, progressive Trance from Vini Vici and Berg. There is too much good music to name everyone here.
As a viable, festival option, why should punters spend their Easter with Rabbits Eat Lettuce - what other, non-music entertainment is planned? Will there be an Easter egg hunt?
Where else can you camp out with your friends, BYO drinks and esky, have the comfort of hot showers and amazing music for four days! There will be live art and world-class fire performances! We also have a workshop space with activities ranging from yoga, group massage, slack line and circus acrobatics. Keep an eye out on Sunday and your bound to find some Easter treats ;)
With the future of the festival at Woodfordia, what grand plans do you have for future events?
Bigger budgets allowing more art and more creativity. Ohh and to not get too many noise complaints.
Your history as an event promoter… how did you start out?
I attended a weekend dance festival when I was around 18 and loved it. When I got home I rented a generator and a sound system and camped out in the bush with about 20 friends. The next month we did it again, but spent a bit more money on the production and sold tickets and ended up getting around 500 people. It just progressed from there and snowballed into what you see today.
You've attended international festivals like Burning Man, Shambhala etc. What did you learn/ draw from these events that you incorporate into Rabbits Eat Lettuce?
The most important thing I leaned by attending those events is how a created environment or space can have such a big effect on people's behaviour and mood. Create the right environment with the right intention and the vibes will be strong. I've also picked up a lot of my musical taste from the outdoor party scene in the USA and Canada. They keep it funky!
Personally and professionally, how testing is putting on an event like Rabbits Eat Lettuce?
I won't lie, I have some grey hairs! It has definitely been dominating my life for the last six months. But it all pays off when you walk around the event and see all the happy people.
Do you have any other events in the works?
One step at a time for now. My world does not exist past the Easter Long Weekend at this stage. All plans are on hold until REL2015 is completed.
What's your favourite Easter memory?
Rabbits Eat Lettuce 2014 :) Seeing everyone enjoy the event we had been working on for six months. Seeing all the smiles, hugs and dancefloor moments.
And your favourite rabbit/ bunny character of all time? My pet rabbit Thumper who used to bite people on the kneecap when they entered our backyard.
Rabbits Eat Lettuce takes place at Woodfordia 3-6 April.
