Parachute Music Festival opened its gates at Hamilton’s Mystery Creek on Friday the 29th Jan for its 20^th year as a major New Zealand music event.

Parachute, a Christian music festival, is the largest festival of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, lasting four days and three nights and attracting crowds of 25,000.

Launched by the Christian music label of the same name in 1989, its “music is our message” vision remains intact with this year’s impressive line-up including names like Switchfoot, Underoath and Family Force 5 verified Parachute’s sticking power as a leading New Zealand music event.  

While fun rides and $5 hair foils adorn the festival’s open-air village, Parachute’s eight stages were ammo enough to keep the crowds entertained for the long weekend. Although it breeds a certain type of culture, Parachute delivers a festival punch for Christians and non-Christians alike, delivering a veritable range of music that carries the thrill of listening to live music.

Wellington hip-hop act Rapture Ruckus were the flavor of the first night at Parachute’s Main stage, while smaller metalcore, reggae and house DJs performed enthusiastically on stages with names like Palladium, Deluxe and The Apollo. US bands Switchfoot and metalcore group Underoath performed in sweltering temperatures and was rivaled by a hot crowd. They preformed along with a host of other bands, stand-up comedians, dance crews and speakers.  

And if the music fails to impress, the punters were just as interesting - Ranging from their sixties to the uber-cool kids round the seventeen mark, there was always something to look at or listen to. 

Whether maintaining extreme stillness in sweltering temperatures to wading through thigh-high waters in the village, Parachute hosted some good times for all the couch-toting, Havaiana-clad Christians and non-Christians alike. Short shorts, great music and badly put-up tents: this was Parachute Festival 2010.

By Natalie Tims

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