evening of the Woodford festival culminates in a spectacular New Year's Day closing ceremony, The Fire Event. Over 20,000 festival goers seated on the grassed Amphitheater hillside witness a spectacle of dance, music, theatricality and fire - with the burning of a large structure heralding the New Year. The Fire Event was developed by Neil Cameron at the former Maleny festival and continued at Woodford, Paul Lawler worked with Cameron and took over as creative director of the event from 2003 - 2011, followed by Joey Ruigrok Van De Werven from 2012 - 2014, and Alex Podger since 2014. The January 2000 Fire Event was featured in the global live TV broadcast heralding the new millennium. In 2005–2006 a record aggregate attendance of over 130,000 visitors attended the festival, injecting $21 million into the Queensland economy. In 2008, the festival won the FasterLouder Festival Award for the most Green Friendly festival. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Woodford Folk Festival was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as an "event and festival". In 2014, the festival attracted more than 126,000 patrons and generated 22 million dollars in direct visitor spending. The Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2015, transforming from a homegrown event to one of the largest cultural celebrations in the southern hemisphere and welcoming more than 2 million people since 1994. In 2016–17, the festival attracted over 135,000 patrons, which was its largest year to date. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 festival to go on hiatus. After a two year hiatus, the 2022 Woodford Folk Festival programme was announced on Oct 22, 2023 featuring a score of Australian and international artists returning to the Woodfordia parklands. Awards and nominations National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. |- | National Live Music Awards of 2019 | Woodford Folk Festival | Best Live Music Festival or Event | |- | National Live Music Awards of 2020 | Woodford Folk Festival | Best Live Music Festival or Event | |- Past Performers 2004–2005 Missy Higgins, The Cat Empire, Doch, Xavier Rudd, The Beautiful Girls, The Waifs, Bomba, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Boat People, Rebecca Wright, Resin Dogs, Butterfingers, Afro Dizzi Act, Jeff Lang Band, Hot Rubber Glove,