Contributor
Dan Borg has evolved OldTown's main stage for the past 8 years before tackling the mind-blowing Sector 6 Stage.
MoS: What's your history with Boomtown Fair?
Dan Borg: Well I started off working on a small venue in Downtown for a friend of mine which led to working as a carpenter for the general Downtown area before landing a job creating Oldtown which I’ve been working on for the past four years before designing Sector 6 last year.
How many of you are involved in designing the festival build and how long do you spend working on the festival?
There’s a team for every district with roughly a dozen people in each working on the frontages, so they’re pretty hefty teams per area. All through the year we build the sets with additional people brought in roughly 2 months before the actual festival when it all amps up before heading down to the festival site at the end of July to get our build on and create our Fair city!
What happens with all of the stages for the remainder of the year? Are they repurposed for other events?
Soon as the festival’s over, we dismantle each one and slide into storage until the next year will they stay safe until we start working on them again for the next Chapter! Front Left, Boomtown’s sister company, was launched last year to take on work outside of Boomtown which designs sets for outside events using the skills and the team that we use on the festival which is exciting because it takes the spirit of Fair out to a larger audience.
What are the biggest challenges you face creating stages for the festival? Any nightmare stories?
There hadn’t been anything too nightmarish to be honest, boring as that is! Things pop up now and again but nothing that’s made us think ‘oh no, we’re in trouble.’ The biggest trial is getting everything finished before the gates open which causes pretty long days but at the end of it, you’re building wicked sets with your mates so it’s not too dire really.
What have been your highlights from Boomtown over the years?
The final Sunday show at Sector 6 was really satisfying moment for me, watching a massive crowd partying at a stage I’d designed from scratch really was an amazing feeling.
Which district of the festival is your favourite?
That’s a really hard question because honestly, they’re all my favourites. Each area and set is unique which is what makes the festival so interesting. The effort that goes in by everyone to make the detail of each area so intricate has to be seen to be appreciated.
More than anything it was good timing because I’ve wanted to build a dirty big power station for years
Dan Borg
How did the Sector 6 stage come about?
Haha, I like to think it was a mix between me asking the bosses why outside companies were designing stages when I could and the general festival being ready for a new mega stage! More than anything it was good timing because I’ve wanted to build a dirty big power station for years - mainly because the interesting architecture. There’s only a certain amount of buildings you can do before you’re pushed to think outside the box and try new things which is what Sector 6 turned out to be.
Thanks Dan! Looking forward to seeing what's in-store this year!
Buy tickets for Boomtown 2017 here
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