An enduring battle to protect the legacy of music at entertainment venue Our Friends Farm in Tallarook has proven fruitful, with a new festival already in the pipeline for Easter.
The Tallarook venue hosts a myriad of events, most recently making headlines after the loss of the beloved Boogie Festival, which saw its final instalment at the venue last year.
Organisers pulled the plug on the multi-day event after 16 years of running due to council enforcement of unfavourable planning conditions concerning noise restrictions and late-night entertainment.
While the festival and other events at the venue have aptly complied with the conditions since resolving the issues three years ago, organisers chose not to return to Tallarook this year.
But Our Friends Farm owner Tanya El-Gamal said she was keen to see festivals return to her property and drove a push for favourable conditions for organisers through permit amendment applications with Mitchell Shire Council and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, VCAT.
Now the worst of the ‘draining and expensive’ clash for favourable condition amendments has passed, Ms El-Gamal is excited to see the upcoming Sonder Music and Arts Festival roll out over Easter.
The three-day electronic music event from March 29 to April 1 will have music lovers flocking to Our Friends Farm with their camping gear for a weekend of ambience and connection.
“It’s going to be a friendly, intimate vibe for people of all ages, but there’s definitely a younger market for this one,” Ms El-Gamal said.
“There will be live music and bands during the day and moving into electronic DJs during the night.
“Sonder is connecting people back with each other through music in the beautiful surrounds of nature.”
Sonder marks ‘a new beginning’ for Ms El-Gamal and the future of her property.
“We’ve got through the complaint hurdles and they can’t cause any more disruption now as we have proven to be compliant and well below the noise restriction limits at all of our recent events since the amendments to the noise levels were granted,” Ms El-Gamal said.
“We’ve got the infamous warehouse opening for late-night entertainment – so yes, we can still play until 3am.”
“We’re now creating events that won’t be forced to change year after year and have permits that are reasonable and workable.”
Sonder organisers 188 Naarm are known for their successful day parties in the city, however the festival is set to be their first multi-day camping event.
“I really love giving people the opportunity to push their boundaries and evolve in their careers and businesses,and this venue is the perfect space to provide that,” Ms El-Gamal said.
It’s a new chapter for Our Friends Farm, the year ahead already seeming full of promise for organisers and festival-goers alike.
“The space is once again being utilised for what it was built for – a place for people to come together, celebrate, meet new people, express themselves freely and safely and have a good time playing in nature with good music and good people,” Ms El-Gamal said.
“I felt gagged and bound since I got here six years ago and went under attack from [complainers], not knowing whether or not it was worthwhile trying to do anything as they were very determined to stop everything I did.
“It’s been a tiresome and stressful journey to get to where we are now but I’m once again feeling that excitement I first had when I bought the property and love being able to build the vision more and more every day.”
