Every February for the last ten years, Secret Garden Festival has taken over a forest outside Sydney, turning it into a magical natural wonderland with a 48-hour extravaganza of music, drag, food and art. It's always a banger. If you've been, you might have found yourself dancing on a cosmic suspended flying saucer dance floor, partying with drag queens at Camp Queen, getting a smooch at the kissing booth or even getting married. But, like all good ones, the party has to come to an end sometime — and, as announced by festival founder Clare Downes last month, 2019 will be Secret Garden's last.
So grab your diary, call your mates and reserve your horse. Because the final Secret Garden will take place over 48 hours, across Friday, February 22 and Saturday, February 23.
And the team behind this grassroots by-mates-for-mates festival has just released the lineup. It reads like a roll-call of local legends, including The Preatures, Ali Barter, Mojo Juju, Mildlife, Laura Jean, Harvey Sutherland, Handsome and Genesis Owusu. And that's just the music side of things. There are a whole heap of other goodies to discover, including a whole stage for drag queens, lots of DJs and party starters, a brass band and even Disney karaoke.
While you never really know what to expect until you get there, we can tell you that, as always, Secret Garden will bring you an immersive experience in a magical out-of-the-city setting transformed into a natural wonderland. You'll find yourself wandering through a forest maze, getting lost in massive installations, discovering unexpected pop-up performances and coming across tucked-away parties in custom-made rave caves. Maybe even getting married. All we know for sure? As always, you're invited to wear your craziest costumes — the Friday theme is disco on a spaceship. Start planning.
So scrape your cash together. Tickets are on sale now and there aren't many left.
Updated: February 13, 2019.