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Icestock is an all-day, outdoor music festival held annually at
Icestock is an all-day, outdoor music festival held annually at McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is ...
, Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
on or around New Year's Day
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...
. It was started in 1989 by three United States Antarctic Program
The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...
employees who wanted to host a music festival in the style of Woodstock
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
. It is the southern-most music festival in the world.
Overview
The organizers, performers, and attendees of Icestock are all personnel working at McMurdo or nearbyScott Base
Scott Base is a New Zealand Antarctic research station at Pram Point on Ross Island near Mount Erebus in New Zealand's Ross Dependency territorial claim. It was named in honour of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, RN, leader of two British exp ...
. Because of the restrictions of the station's working schedule, Icestock falls on the Saturday closest to New Year's Day. Ahead of the event, volunteers erect a temporary stage as well as shacks for serving food and beverages.
Anyone who is interested may perform in Icestock. Around a dozen acts perform each year, and the performances last for several hours. People often attend in costume. The celebration culminates with a countdown to the new year. Because it occurs during the Antarctic summer, the entire festival, including the midnight countdown, takes place in sunlight.
Musical acts
There are both group and individual musical performances at Icestock. As there are no permanent residents of Antarctica, musical groups typically form in the weeks preceding the festival. All personnel at the station are employed in other capacities, so music rehearsal takes place outside of the station's 60-hour work week. McMurdo has practice rooms and some instruments, but many musicians bring their own equipment to the station. Musicians perform both original music and covers from a wide variety of genres, including folk, rock, and dance music. Although there have been attempts to record Icestock performances, the music from Icestock is rarely performed or distributed beyond the festival.Other activities
In addition to music, performances at Icestock have included comedy sketch routines, dramatic performances, and dance routines. Most years people dressed asBaby New Year
The Baby New Year is a personification of the start of the New Year commonly seen in editorial cartoons. He symbolizes the "birth" of the next year and the "passing" of the prior year; in other words, a "rebirth". Baby New Year's purpose varies ...
will take the stage around midnight.
A chili cook-off also forms a central part of Icestock activities.
References