When two punters turned up at the Secret Garden festival over the weekend wearing blackface, they obviously didn’t expect what was coming to them.
The festival, held on the outskirts of Sydney, returned for its eighth instalment on the weekend, with tickets selling out a few days prior for a lineup that featured acts like Gang Of Youths, Matt Corby and Raury. Attendees are encouraged to dress up for the costume-friendly festival each year, but when one pair showed up in blackface and dressed as ‘rappers’, they’d clearly crossed the line.
READ our full Secret Garden review here
While other festivals might have ignored the offensive behaviour, or booted them out completely, Secret Garden festival programmer Adam Lewis came up with an effective solution of his own. Upon spying the two numbskulls, he confronted them and unceremoniously marched them to the showers to wash off their ‘costumes’.
Speaking with the BRAG, Lewis explained exactly what happened:
“There were a couple of guys who came out dressed as ‘rappers’, who we saw pretty much right away. We immediately made it clear that it was unacceptable, and I walked them directly to the showers. It was a brief but really disappointing moment amongst an otherwise vibrant and wonderful weekend.
“We’re a festival that prides ourselves on being open and welcoming to people from all walks of life. Anything that makes people feel unwelcome or uncomfortable on the basis of who they are is completely unacceptable to us.
“As I mentioned, it’s a big bummer that this happened, especially given how clear the community has been about this being not okay. It’s a big topic of discussion in the broader community and we’re hoping this stupid move by a couple of dickheads doesn’t overshadow everything else that happened.”
Thankfully, the offensive behaviour of two isolated individuals didn’t detract from an overall successful Secret Garden. Check out our full review of the festival here.
