FAQ

ATMs

There will be five ATMs on site for your convenience, see the site map for exact locations.

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Busking

Busking is NOT permitted, all of the entertainment in the Park is selected and programmed in advance.

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Cloakroom

The cloakroom is located at the Hackney Road entrance near the bike park, and will close when gates close each night. No valuables can be left there (eg wallets/phones/cameras) and only small to medium sized closed/zippered bags/daypacks will be accepted ie no loose items of clothing such as coats/jumpers, no prams, no plastic/shopping carry bags etc. All items are left at your own risk and the Event Manager takes no responsibility for items left behind when the festival ends. Any such items will be held at the Info Booth until the end of the festival, then left onsite until the following Friday, after which they will be held at the festival office (tel 8271 1488) until the end of March. Thereafter, valuables will be taken to the Norwood Police Station (tel 8207 6800) and the remaining items will be donated to charity.

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Disabled patrons' infomation

Carers are admitted free when accompanying a disabled patron. There are raised viewing platforms at Stages 1, 2 and 3. Disabled toilets and wheelchair parking (near the Hackney Road entrance car park) are also available.

Carers will be required to present their National Companion Card. (http://www.companioncard.org.au)

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Drinking water

There are 3 drinking fountains set up around the park.

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Stallholders

The festival selects around 100 stalls each year (35 food, 45 crafts and 20 display). Please note that WOMADelaide has a capacity of 20,000 people per day, so stallholders with extensive experience, including work at other large-scale events and festivals, are considered favourably. Vans selling hot chips, Dagwood Dogs etc are not suitable, as the food on offer at the festival is of an international, gourmet nature. Stall selection takes place in November and all applicants will be notified of the outcome by mid-December.

Stallholder applications for 2010 have now closed. Applications for the 2011 festival will be available online in August 2010.

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Performing at WOMADelaide

WOMADelaide is an invitation-only (curated) festival with the budget and space to program around 25 international and 15 Australian artists/groups each year, plus a number of street theatre and visual artists. APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2010 FESTIVAL HAVE CLOSED and no further materials will be accepted. Please check the website again in April 2010 for further information.

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Festival location

The festival is held in Adelaide’s Botanic Park, on Hackney Road in the inner city.

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Opening hours of the festival

Friday - gates open 4:30pm, performances are on from 6pm-1am.
Saturday - gates open at 11am, performances are on from midday-1am.
Sunday - gates open at 11am, performances are on from midday-midnight.
Monday – gates open at 11am, performances are on from midday-midnight.

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First Aid

St John's Ambulance are always present and the Royal Adelaide Hospital is only minutes away. If you forget your own, for a donation you can use sunscreen supplied by St John's.

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Camping

There is NO camping on site, the venue is part of the Botanical Gardens.

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Sunshades

Only sunshades with small lightweight pegs that go all the way into the grass are permitted but can only be erected in clear spaces, away from the main viewing arenas in front of the stages, thoroughfares /walkways and major structures such as stages or food stalls. Shades cannot be left in position overnight.

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To bring

The essentials are your entry pass/WristTicket, valid photo ID, hat, sunscreen, medication (especially for asthma or hayfever as the Park can get dusty), portable ashtray if you smoke (such as empty film canister/other plastic container), clothes to suit the weather and insect repellant if the mozzies love you.

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NOT to bring

Animals (except guide dogs), any glass (bottles, containers, glasses etc), weapons, fireworks, flame-twirling items, 'high' chairs, alcohol or illicit substances.

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Seating

15,000+ people attend each day. It's quite a mobile crowd and one cannot reasonably expect to 'reserve' a spot by placing a blanket etc in front of a stage. Generally speaking it is a 'stand up and dance' crowd.You can bring a chair to WOMADelaide...but only if it's a low 'beach chair'. These are for sale at camping/army disposal shops, K-Mart and at the merchandise stall on site. No higher chairs can be brought in - there is no negotiation on this (gate security will confiscate them). Chairs are expected to be used at the outer edges of the playing arenas. For elderly/infirm patrons, around 20 chairs are fixed to the front of the wheelchair viewing platforms at Stages 1, 2 and 3. The D in WOMAD is for Dance, so you can expect that the crowds will regularly be on their feet! Patrons wishing to remain seated should position themselves to the rear and sides of the audience area. For selected performances, all of the audience will be asked to sit down and, in these cases, those who want to stand or dance will be asked to position themselves to the rear and sides of the audience area.

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Flyering

Absolutely NO flyering is permitted inside or outside the festival grounds. Pamphlets and flyers can only be given out by stallholders and, due to the festival's Zero Waste/green policies, even the Info Booth can only give out the event schedule.

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Fundraising at the festival

Fundraising is NOT permitted by anyone on site.

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Children

Strollers/prams are welcome within the festival grounds.Children 12 and under get in for free when accompanied by a paying adult. There is no limit on the number of children an adult can bring in and they do not need a ticket in advance. Kids aged 13 and upwards have to buy a concession price ticket.

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What is there for kids to do at the festival?

There is never a shortage of brilliant things to do in KidZone - arts and crafts workshops run by Carclew Youth Arts, Evelyn Roth's Nylon Zoo inflatable creatures and the ever-popular Amazing Drumming Monkeys. The Samba Parade workshops are also held in the KidZone.

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Lost children

Parents should get wristbands for their children from the gates or the info booth and mark them with the adult's name, mobile number and the child's name in case they get lost. Parents should also organise with children to meet at the Info Booth if they do get separated. If a lost child arrives at the Info Booth, volunteers will alert festival security. If it's after 6pm, security will alert the SA Police, who will be on site for the entire duration of the festival. Please note that the KidZone is not a crèche/child-minding facility and all children should be accompanied by an adult.

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Baby change

There are two baby change facilities - in each of the disabled toilet blocks on the north and south of the Park.

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Lost property

Report lost property to the Info Booth. Found items will be held at the Info Booth until the end of the festival, then left onsite until the following Friday, after which they will be held at the festival office (tel 8271 1488) until the end of March. Thereafter, valuables will be taken to the Norwood Police Station (tel 8207 6800) and the remaining items will be donated to charity.

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Security

Plenty - but they're friendly. They check bags for glass etc upon entry and keep an eye out for people filming live performances (a no-no), and any shabby behaviour in the crowd (along with the SA Police). And please don't try and jump the fence to get in - people have been impaled!

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Smoking

We would prefer that you did not for the comfort of patrons - but if you must smoke please be conscious of those around you - do not smoke near ANY of the stages, the wheelchair platforms, the Global Village, Kidzone or Speakers Corner. Please keep WOMADelaide & Botanic Park Butt Free - use the bins provided to dispose of your cigarette butts. Portable ashtrays will be available at the Info Booth for your butts if you forget to bring your own portable ashtray (please remember to take this home with you as it will contaminate the festival's waste recycling program). While the stage MCs will make announcements over the weekend, if you are a smoker please help us by following these simple protocols. Cigarettes are not sold at the festival.

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Food & drinks on site

We have over 40 international food stalls with prices ranging from approx $3-15, three bars, and non-alcoholic drinks stalls. There are literally hundreds of different flavours and delicacies to choose from. Of course you can bring your own food and non-alcoholic drinks, but no bottles/glass containers are allowed.

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Toilets

We provide 22 blocks of proper, regularly-cleaned toilets, plus disabled facilities. There are more women's toilets than men's so you never have to queue for long.

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Cameras & Video cameras

Cameras are permitted on site, but you cannot use to film or video any live performances on any stage, or your equipment will be confiscated. Long-lens/professional cameras are not permitted into the Park unless by prior arrangement. Tape or mp3 recorders are NOTpermitted. Mobile phones with the ability to record are permitted into the festival.

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Merchandise

We sell CDs by the featured artists, souvenir festival t-shirts and sometimes unique art work (eg woven baskets from indigenous artists). If you don't get the chance to buy the CD you want at the festival, Womusic is open all year round.

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Suggestion or complaints

Before or after the festival, write to Arts Projects Australia. At the festival itself, take it to the Info Booth.

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Weather

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the average maximum temperature in Adelaide in March is 26.3 C and the average minimum is 15.2C. WOMADelaide is an outdoor festival – it can be very warm, although Botanic Park has lots of shade. Remember to make sure you drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen and that it can get quite cool at night, too!

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Dust, pollen and asthma

Like countless gardens across Adelaide, Botanic Park has been following water restrictions throughout the Summer period, however the WOMADelaide Site Manager has taken steps to do whatever is possible to minimise the damage to the park and look after the comfort and well-being of the audience. In 2010, we will again be running water trucks over the Park twice a day from one week before the festival up to and including the weekend. There will also be new traffic restrictions for vehicles entering the park before and during the festival to try and ease the dust, ground protection mats for heavy vehicle access, a ‘walkway’ between Stages 1 and 2, mist stations and several drinking fountains. Click here for more information on dust management.

WOMADelaide will also be working with the Asthma Foundation to assist festival-goers with their asthma management. A daily pollen count will be added to the website in the lead up to the event.

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