Katrina Larkin, the other half of the Co-Founder Duo of The Big Chill Festival, recently won a Lifetime Achievement award for her dedication to The Big Chill Festival. The Big Chill takes place in Herefordshire in a stunning valley of a site at Eastnor Deer Park. Having spent many years struggling with the elements and financial stress to bring us one of the best festivals available on the scene, Katrina has finally been recognised for the input she has had in to creating what has become the highlight of most peoples festival calendar. When Perfect Pitch magazine heard that she was due to win and after recent news of the sale of Big Chill to Festival Republic we decided to catch up with Katrina to find out her take on the future of festivals and working in the festival industry.

Congratulations on winning the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Thank you.

How did it feel to hear that you had won?

Very odd. I wasn’t expecting to receive the award at all. I think I was actually speechless for once! But really pleased as I felt it wasn’t an award for just me but for the people involved over the last 15 years who had put so much energy into making the festival so special.

Winning the award must be a major sense of achievement not just for yourself but also representing women in the industry. How difficult has it been and what advice can you give to anyone looking to make a mark for themselves in the industry?

It is a male dominated business and often feels like a boys club. You have to be absolutely determined and quite thick skinned at times. I think times are slowly changing in the industry though, more women are involved and some are reaching influential positions. Certainly more than when I started out 16 years ago.

It’s been big news within the Industry about the sale of Big Chill Festival, how does it feel tofinally have the support of a heavyweight financial backer within the festival industry?

It feels right for The Big Chill festival. It’s been an organic growth over the last 16 years and we reached the point where if we wanted to maintain the wide creative offering of The Big Chill we needed all year support from an organisation that would understand our objectives and help us deliver the spirit of the festival. We’ve been here two months now and it was the right move. We’ve had more time to make plans, come up with creative ideas and generally make the festival an even better experience for the chillers in the years to come. Plus they are a great group of people to work with and are just as enthusiastic about next year’s festival as us.

You have always been keen to shy away from the idea of ‘headliners’ will this still be the case at Big Chill 2010 now that Festival Republic are involved?

The music policy is more a case of making sure we book artists of quality, which we are proud to perform on our stages. Festival Republic want to make sure the overall spirit of the festival is maintained and spend as much time with us planning small intimate spaces as well as artists you’ll find on the bigger stages. The creative ethos of The Big Chill is staying and is key to what makes it special.

Will you miss working with Pete Lawrence and do you envisage him still working with the Big Chill in any way?

Pete’s a very special person in my life, we created The Big Chill together, he was a large part of my life for many years and he left at the right time for him. We are friends and he always has an open invite to play.

What was the ideal behind the Big Chill festival when it first started and how do you feel this has changed as the festival has grown?

To provide a space on a Sunday afternoon where the main space focus was about chilling to music and visuals on a cinema screen. Plus eating good cake, having a head massage , comfort , sitting amongst colourful decor and having a sublime afternoon with old and new friends. Over the first few months we had a lingerie poseathon, a cinema room, a room for live bands, dance performances, book readings, a cafe that was based on the Magic Roundabout and we ended up sprawling out over more rooms at the venue (The Union Chapel in North London).

All those elements are still there today, we’ve just been able to indulge in our creative fantasies introducing more areas and activities as the event has grown.

The Big Chill has very obviously grown from its small beginnings but what was the final deciding factor for selling shares of The Big Chill Festival to Festival Republic?

Support all year round from an organisation that have incredible knowledge of putting on events. Plus, we liked them and both sides became increasingly enthusiastic to work with each other as negotiations developed.

What has been your best festival moment working on The Big Chill?

So many over the 15 years. Last year watching the crew all dressed as zombies working on the Thursday was very funny and  watching  all the effort thousands of chillers had put into dressing up as zombies and contributing to the film we were making with Warp X. It was a magic start to a great weekend.

How do you see festivals in general changing over the next 5 years?

I think the main thing that is changing year on year is that festivals are becoming a fixed staple in the British summer diary. It used to be “where are you going on holiday but now it’s also, which festival are you going to?” I think more people of a wider demographic will attend festivals.

In the current climate how do you see the future of smaller festivals evolving?

It’s hard in any business for smaller organisations. I think the main way for them to survive is not to be over ambitious and grow slowly.

Which other festivals do you attend and any that you recommend in particular?

Edinburgh festival is a favourite, as not only do you have great entertainment, but it’s in a great city with great pubs!

What makes your Perfect Pitch?

At the Big Chill Festival night before gate opens, I barely sleep with excitement that the festival is finally about to start again for another year.

http://www.bigchill.net/festival