LET’S TALK BUSINESS - Rangebow

Rangebow Festival Director, Wayne Parcell,  established a charity to run the annual festival, which began in 2022, and which promotes diversity, inclusion, and community through art and culture events on the Sunshine Coast. We caught up with Wayne recently to find out more about the business angle of creating a festival, and about Wayne himself.

- Where were you born and raised, and what brought you to the Sunny Coast/Hinterland?  

“I was born in Brisbane and grew up in housing commission and while studying law at university would regularly visit the hinterland and it was at that time I decided this is where I wanted to be.”

- Please tell us about the Rangebow Festival and what sets it apart from others?  

“The festival was built on purpose. and lives on purpose. The festival means to show that with no barriers and no boundaries life can simply be fun and joyful. The festival offers experiences that let people be on stage, immersed in an event.”

- What are the challenges involved in creating the festival? 

Creating public events is financially and logistically challenging. It is difficult enough to create and schedule events which require significant investment and then to not be sure if patrons will buy tickets early enough to enable the delivery risks to be managed. You need nerves of steel to deal with last minute ticket purchasing behaviours – my steely resolve gets tested quite regularly!”

- When creating a festival programme, what can a 'typical' day entail for you? 

“A day in the life of a festival director (in this case being a volunteer gig) means I can be trying to get the best price on rubbish bins one moment, and then next minute I am looking out over the Glasshouse Mountains from a wedding venue to be used for a classical music event. I might then be fielding questions from regulators about permit applications for street closures, and then being excited about meeting one of Australia’s funniest comedians. The day is like a Neapolitan ice-cream swirl.”

- Do you have a personal favourite event, or one that visitors flock to?

“Choosing a favourite event is tricky, because I love so many of them for different reasons.

But the one that stands out for us is the Drag Pageant which sees individuals shed their fears and create a persona, a costume and a performance that they deliver to a fan-clacking audience, who witness phoenix-like transformations from wall-flowers to blooming bouquets. It is a very special event in personal confidence and transformation - and it is fun!”

- What do you like about the Sunshine Coast Hinterland area?  

“The hinterland is a place of great natural beauty with splashes of unique communities, all with their own personality. It offers peace and sanctuary, but is still within reasonable reach of urban centres and essential services. Although I would love to see better entertainment spaces in the hinterland.”

- What do you like to do in your spare time?  

“When I have time-off, I like to travel, but that doesn’t happen as often as I would like. A bit like the festival ethos, I like to go somewhere different – it recharges me and gives me new ideas to bring back to the festival.”

- Do you have a favourite quote or saying that inspires you?  

“Do what you love, and love what you do.”