Kids To Build Their Own Festival Village in QLD

Imaginations will run wild and free at The Planting 2020, where at the ‘A Village Called…’ project, our younger festivillians will build their very own kids-only village for the fourth year running.

Kids aged 10 – 17 are invited to create the village buildings from a huge pile of pallets gathered from local businesses and leftover timber from other festival projects. Under the supervision of a team of wonderful volunteer carpenters, they’ll have the use of drop saws, screw guns and drills to bring their wildest dreams to life.

Please note: some aspects of the Village Build will only be available to kids in the older age bracket. Stay tuned for more details about this year’s Village in The Planting 2020 programme, which will be released on Saturday 28 March.

“They have the freedom to create with some real adult tools. They do the design and the engineering and build their little cabins. They really get into it – it’s wonderful to watch the Village take shape each year.”

Bill Hauritz, Woodfordia Founder & Festival Director

Every village citizen can vote on the village’s name, put forward a design for the flag and participate in the open mic night held to celebrate the completion of the newest community. On Saturday and Sunday afternoon, adults and youngsters alike are welcome to join in the Village Games for the world’s friendliest battle, complete with soccer ball catapults, foam swords and cardboard castles.

In previous years, parents have remarked that their kids’ participation in this project has led to far more extravagant backyard cubby houses, with the little ones getting involved in add-ons and renovations, keen to continue practicing the skills learnt at The Planting.

One family in particular talked about how their daughter was very shy until participating in this project. In the months after her involvement, the family saw her confidence rise, her friendship circles widen and an increase in her eagerness to get involved in other once-daunting activities.

Since its beginning in 2017, the ‘A Village Called…’ project has grown by about 50% each year, with 240+ children getting involved in 2019. As well as there being plenty of kids that have never picked up a hammer, kids are returning each year with more skills under their belts and even bigger dreams.

Our little Woodfordians never fail to amaze us with their skill, teamwork and innovation – we’re very much looking forward to seeing what the clever class of 2020 puts together.