BED2011 Blog

Share the Love- With ANGLICARE

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:52:00 GMT

One of our great partners at the Big Exo Day, ANGLICARE has shared some sweet photos of what they got up to on the day- who they ran into… as well as some pretty cool thoughts on one of our favourite things- LOVE!!! Read on kids…

Share the Love.

Share the love .... ahhh. Do you feel all warm and fuzzy? Being loved by someone is really special. It’s probably the best feeling ever – loving and being loved back.

But love is not just about feelings. At ANGLICARE Sydney we believe love is an action.

We love others, even when it’s tough, because it’s what Jesus wants and it is actually a huge joy!

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, Jesus says the most important thing you can do with your life is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind AND love your neighbour as yourself.

Caring for others is a way to glorify God and to show the world that Jesus is worth following. Basically, it’s how God wants us to live.

That’s why ANGLICARE Sydney works with families struggling to pay their bills, people escaping violence, refugees, teenagers who are homeless, people with a disability ... you name it, we do it.

Because we love God and want to love others as a way of glorifying Him.

At the end of the day who gives a stuff what you wear or what you look like or how successful you are – it’s how you loved that will really count to God.

So be our friend and join ANGLICARE Sydney’s mission of changing lives and growing communities as we glorify God and love Jesus together.

To 'like' ANGLICARE (which, let's face it, you need to), head to www.facebook.com/ANGLICARESydney

BIG EXO DAY PARTNER: MY HEART BLEEDS

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:42:00 GMT

~ INTRODUCING MY HEART BLEEDS ~

BUY A SHIRT & JOIN THE MOVEMENTFrom the creators of Walk in Their Shoes (yep, that’s right the Green Shoelaces) comes My Heart Bleeds a movement aimed at supporting those people who risk everything for following Jesus.

This year at EXO make sure you come by the EXO JUSTICE zone and buy a shirt, bag or set of laces and support those who share our faith but not our freedom!

We’ll have MHB people walking around throughout the day so make sure you ask them for directions to the stall AND definitely be sure to check out the whole EXO JUSTICE zone as it’s going to be epic! Oh yeah and don’t tell too many people BUT... I’ve heard there is going to one super tasty BBQ at EXO Justice so if you’re looking for a place to have some lunch then I promise EXO JUSTICE has the best tasting food and the money goes to supporting those in need.Giddy up!

P.S. We have plenty of shoelaces available too!

#IAMEXO Behind the Scenes

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:32:00 GMT

How it really is...

Can you make Dazza laugh?!

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:32:00 GMT

Attention all you funny kids:

Our boy Daz McMahon has scored some free tickets to this weekend, and wants you to have them. But can you make us laugh?

"@BigExoDay FREE TICKET COMP! simply fill in the gap & most funniest wins! WHAT I DON'T LIKE MOST ......... BUT IT'S @BigExoDay THIS WEEKEND!"

Send us your answers, via TWITTER or FACEBOOK.

Happy Pun-ing.

Exo HQ

SUNSHINE, GREEN GRASS, BIRDS, TREES, YOU & THE BIG EXO DAY

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:19:00 GMT

Some tasty info updates to keep you all going ahead of the biggest day of 2011, the BIG EXO DAY....

Parramatta Park: Brand New Venue, a Brand NEW Experience

We're going to new levels this year with a never-before-seen park layout, stages, zones and much more including the all new Exo-Justice zone featuring interactivity and a chance to make an impact, as well as massive rides, a HUGE new Pressure Cooker set up, and much much MUCH more to get your senses buzzing. Check out the new MAP AND PROGRAM (Linked) to see where and when your favourite artists are playing.

#IAMEXO
We're bringing you a BRAND NEW glimpse into the behind the scenes craziness that goes on at the Big Exo Day... each of our #iamexo legends have to rehearse pretty hard to get it just right for the cameras- and we know you're going to love it when they get it wrong. Make sure you subscibe to our Youth Alive NSW channel to keep up to date on all the craziness.

In the News:
The whole world is hearing about the Big Exo Day, and in case you've missed it, here are some of the headlines that we've been getting. Share it around!

Summer Festivals Guide- The Music
The Brag
Tone Deaf

Nite Guide

Sludge Factory

Faster Louder

May the Rock Be With You
Drum Media (Street Press)

PROGRAM SNEAK PEAK: SPECIAL GUEST ARTIST STAN WALKER

Have a little look at what everyone gets to keep on the big day, a HUGE day program magazine with maps, programs, bios, giveaways and plenty more. Our boy stan has a BRAND NEW single launching Friday, and we've got the first performance on Main Stage at the Big Exo Day- just for you! Read a little more about our favourite Australian Idol:

MONSTER SKATE AT THE BIG EXO DAY
Just because we moved out from Olympic Park to Parramatta Park, doesn't mean we miss out on EPIC skating- Monster have uprooted and decided to join us in the grass and sunshine, with their massive mobile skate set up, all just for us! There will be special demos on the day from the "Grom Squad", special guests, give aways and comps as well as plenty of time for free skating. Guys, you MUST bring a signed SKATE WAIVER to be able to skate on the day.

TICKETS ON SALE: $45 ONLINE or $55 ON THE DAY
There will never be a better time to get yourself a ticket to the Big Exo Day than RIGHT NOW! So get clicking, get your tickets and get sorted out so that you can be there for the 10th Anniversary of Australia's largest Youth Festival as we make history together, all because we want to show the world that for anyone at all, "Life Can Be Excellent".

//Exo HQ

#IAMEXO Deklan

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:14:00 GMT

#IAMEXO - Deklan.

Meet Deklan, with a K. He skates, and tweets a lot. He loves hardcore, he loves his coffee... and well, he's from the Shire. But we don't hold that against him... He's a legend through and through and he LOVES Big Exo Day. And he wants to meet YOU on the big day.. which, might we mention, is VERY CLOSE???!!!

#Iamexo is about YOU. The Big Exo Day is never as much about the guests and performers as it is about YOU exploring YOUR creativity, discovering YOUR potential, and for every single young person, understanding that for them, life really can be excellent. Show the world that it's true, by writing "I am Exo" across your Facebook profile pic, twitter it, share the videos, tell us which ones are your favourite and why…

#IAMEXO Steph

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 02:11:00 GMT

#IAMEXO Steph

Meet Steph: Photographer of all things beautiful, dreamer, creator, artist and generally just an appreciator of all the things she sees around her every day. There's always something to see, something to be discovered, and something more than what meets the eye. When it comes to the Big Exo Day, you might find Steph snapping some crowd shots, getting some close ups at side of stage, and I'm sure if you ask her, she'll take your photo too!

Make sure you get yourself, your friends, your camera and your creative juices flowing for the Big Exo Day on September 17... With just 9 days left to go we are putting all the last touches on our Markets area, our merch, our MASSIVE Salvo's Op Shop, Strawberry Fields (Fashion Shows, Designer Showcases, Makeup and much more), as well as our HUGE EXO-JUSTICE zone featuring interaction, competitions, education and loads of inspiration...

You DO NOT want to miss the incredible array of all things creative/inspiring/musical/arty/vintage AND generally AWESOME at the Big Exo Day- in just 9 DAYS!!! (Did we say that already?!).

MEDIA UPDATE:

Hope 103.2 (for all your Sydney listeners) will be running an exclusive interview and live song performances with Aaron Gillespie at 8pm this Saturday- make sure you're tuned in!!

And... for the fashion conscious, just for the inside scoop, check out our sample of the awesome merch tee you can score yourself at the big day. More to come... Until then... Love and Warm Fuzzies..

Exo HQ

Big Exo Day Partner: Koorong

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 04:40:00 GMT

Here's a little about Koorong, one of our fantastic Big Exo Day and Youth Alive NSW supporters!

Koorong is committed to spreading God's Word and building up the body of Christ by providing an extensive range of Christian books, Bibles, music, software, DVDs, ministry resources, gifts and more at the lowest prices. We aim to provide quality resources for Christians and introduce non-Christians to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Koorong is a Christian, family company and is 100% Australian owned. It began over 30 years ago at the Bootes family residence in Koorong Street, Marsfield, near Macquarie University in Sydney. As well as a street name, we understand that ‘koorong’ is an Indigenous term for ‘watering hole’ or ‘oasis’, which sums up well what we do. We opened our Sydney store in Ryedale Road, West Ryde in 1978 and moved to our Sydney Superstore in West Parade, West Ryde in 1995.

We now have stores in most Australian capital cities – Sydney, Melbourne CBD, Blackburn, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Fyshwick and many other locations - Armidale, Port Macquarie, Toowoomba, Woolloongabba, Newcastle, Springwood, Penrith, Launceston, Gosford and Tamworth. In 2010 we purchased 8 Wesley Owen book stores in the UK.

Koorong is more than just a resource centre – a number of our stores include our popular Pages Cafe and children’s play areas. Pages Cafes attract not only Koorong customers, but many locals who come in to enjoy a delicious meal with friends or relax and chat over tea, coffee or refreshing cold drink and perhaps a sweet treat.

We also have a continually evolving and comprehensive web store, which now includes our eBook store, eTicket store and Five Loaves Entertainment, (which provides films that are high quality, relevant and enjoyable for Christians and non-Christians alike). Our web store makes ordering easy and you receive priority processing, plus our postage rates are now even cheaper! You will save time, effort, and money when you shop online at our web store, especially with our Membership Program.

Whether shopping in-store or online our Membership Program gives you access to a whole range of discounts and benefits including Bonus Koorong Vouchers – it is our way of saying ‘Thank you’. For every dollar* you spend you earn reward points, which become redeemable at the end of the calendar year in the form of a redeemable discount voucher to spend on whatever you choose.
So, drop into your local Koorong store and check out our great range of resources and friendly, helpful staff, or visit our web store at www.koorong.com
We look forward to your visit!

*Does not apply to purchases on account or eBooks.

Calling ALL Young Fashion Designers!!!

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:46:00 GMT

CALLING ALL YOUNG FASHION DESIGNERS!

Have a flare for fashion? Can you sew up style? Create a textiles masterpiece?

This year at BIG EXO DAY Strawberry Fields is giving YOU the opportunity to enter your designs into the Fashion Parade! If you have a passion for textiles and design, you make your own clothes or you just want to take on the challenge to come up with a fabulous outfit, we'd love you to apply!

We are looking for 10 creative designs to parade down the Strawberry Fields Catwalk. All you need to do to enter is to flick our Strawberry Fields team an email before Saturday 10th September with the following details and a photo of your design to strawberryfieldchicks@gmail.com

SEND US YOUR:
Name
Age
Phone Number
Email
Suburb you live in
Explain your design/ motivations/ inspirations

Don't forget to attach a photo/s of your design....

The 10 designs will be selected and notified by Monday 12th September. Designers will we responsible to bring their outfits to Strawberry Fields Zone at the Big Exo Day (17th September) by 1.30pm to the stage area.

Love Exo HQ

#IAMEXO Kado

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:16:00 GMT

#IAMEXO Kado

Hip-hop, RnB, Urban, Rap, and all the fits in between. That's Kado's world. No time for messing around, this kid is a modern day poet- writing, creating, MC-ing, just generally living and breathing the music. For Kado, life is excellent- he is all about seeing YOU find it out for yourself, and he most definitely will be at the Big Exo Day.

ZONE UPDATE:

This year, our Hip-hop zone is going big. Bigger that we've ever gone! Always a highlight from Exo's gone by, we've put a lot of planning in to make our 10th anniversary one that you'll remember. With the sell-out US "Unashamed Tour" bringing the full force of Trip Lee, Tedashii, Pro, This'l AND KB all on the one stage, as well as Idol-legend Stan Walker just off the back of a brand new single that is rocketing through the Aussie charts. Throw in plenty of local un-signed talent, dance, urban and more… we are confident that you will LOVE what we've got up our sleeves for you at the Big Exo Day on September 17. Be there.

Big Exo HQ

Big Exo Day Partner: TEAR Australia

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:16:00 GMT

Hi Exo...

Introducing an exciting NEW initiative at the Big Exo Day... EXO JUSTICE. We're combining forces with some of our partners to bring you an interactive and educational new zone that is centred around the idea that together, we can make a difference. We've always said that we believe that life can be excellent for every person, no matter who they are, where they live or what circumstances surround them. And this is the next step toward giving YOU, our Exo family, the opportunity to be involved directly with some of the great organisations that we work with.

Meet TEAR Australia.

Have a read below about some of the things that we need to consider when it comes to a healthy and balanced view of poverty in our world today:

Out of 2.2 billion children in the world over 1 billion live in poverty.

That’s almost every second child.

So while Sam from Sydney decides whether to watch MasterChef or the Big Bang Theory, whether to have chocolate or ice-cream for dessert, and whether to chuck a sicky from school…

… Sovann from Phnom Penh in Cambodia tries to figure out where to sleep, what to get food to eat, and whether going to school will ever be a possibility.

Can you imagine what it’s like to walk in Sovann’s shoes?

Why not come and find out in TEAR’s Simulation Game at Big EXO Day 2011. Will you be able to cope? Will you succeed? Find out at The Big Exo Day!

Need help finding TEAR on the day? Look for the goats and chickens, or ask the rickshaw driver for directions!

Ever wondered what you can do make a difference in the lives of the poor? Come and speak to TEAR Australia at The Big EXO Day to find out how YOU can be the change we need in our world.

A Message for our Exo Family from HQ

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:05:00 GMT

Hi Family,

A word about our line-up for 2011:

We are proud and blessed to have The Almost, Reach Records Crew, Trevor Ward, Stan Walker, Reggie Dabbs and many more playing / speaking / performing at our amazing festival on September 17 at Parramatta Park, it's going to be the best year ever and above all, we're so happy to have YOU involved.

We also want to respond to comments we've received online about the Jonas Brothers performing here in Australia at our festival; unfortunately we have been unable to confirm them for this year. We apologise for running before we could walk with this announcement. We worked really hard for this to happen but sadly it couldn't work out this year - we hold lots of hope that the guys can come soon, as they do love you guys (their fans) and it was simply down to a scheduling issue.

We love you and Big Exo Day can't happen without you - you are our Exo family, and at the end of the day, you are the stars!

Big love and warm fuzziness, and many more updates to come...

Exo HQ

#IAMEXO Danii

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:17:00 GMT

Youth Alive NSW on Vimeo.

Meet Danii.

She's one of our pals, she's a hip-hop loving Sydney girl and she just loved to dance. Music: Dance, pop, funk, hip-hop, urban, and whatever falls in between. Food: Pizza, Tapas and baked goods. Loves: Being a youth leader, being a dance teacher, generally being a legend... and of course, being Exo. Where will she be on September 17? Well, you guessed it. The Big Exo Day.

The Hip Hop Zone:

One of our most popular stages will be ALL time with a bigger line-up that ever before. You've seen what we've done in the past, but nothing will prepare you for the full-on force that is the "UNASHAMED" tour, presented by Reach Records and featuring Tedashii, Pro, KB, This'l and Trip Lee. And that my friends, is just the icing on the cake. Local and international rappers, beat boxers, dancers and even Stan Walker will be bringing the heat to what has always been one of the highlights of the Big Exo Day. Feeling creative? Come and see young people just like you doing what they love to do.

For a full list of our current line-up CLICK HERE.

#IAMEXO... An explanation:

Introducing some of the young people that make the Big Exo Day uniquely what it is, and giving you an insight into who we are and what we're about… we're rolling out a new side of the Big Exo that you've never seen before! Each and every week leading up to September 17th, you'll meet a new face of the Big Exo Day 2011!!

With some of the young creative minds sharing who they are, what makes them tick and why the are "Exo Day"... From all the corners of NSW they come, each with their own dreams, their own ideas and their own perspective on life, and what it means to be part of something amazing that is seeing change in our generation- kind of like you and me!

As we roll out our different "faces" of the Big Exo Day, we wonder who you'll identify with, who you'll fall in love with, and above all, we wonder if you'll join us in being a part of not just a great festival in the sun… but a youth movement who believe that not just for us, but for everyone, life can be excellent!

#IAMEXO DJ Josh

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:58:00 GMT

Meet DJ Josh…

You've probably seen him. You probably know him. Or someone just like him.

Chuckin down the heat... DJ Josh is your favourite Bankstown local/ CRX driving/ wheels of steel dance-music nut. We all know one... and well, now you know another one. Meet Josh!! Just don't ask him about Lorraine... Show up at the Pressure Cooker at this year's Big Exo Day at Parramatta Park and get your fix of dance, dub-step, electro, and mash up all courtesy of some sweet, sweet Dj's such as SWNSCRM, Cuddles, Mandex and of course the crowd fave from 2010, Los Torros... More to be announced real soon...

#IAMEXO...

Tickets are not going to wait for you... GET THEM NOW! And stay tuned for next week's instalment of the #IAMEXO series. Comment, share and link your way to happiness at the Big Exo Day...

Love, Exo HQ.

#IAMEXO Zanna

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:37:00 GMT

Introducing you to some fresh young faces...

Introducing some of the young people that make the Big Exo Day uniquely what it is, and giving you an insight into who we are and what we're about… we're rolling out a new side of the Big Exo that you've never seen before! Each and every week leading up to September 17th, you'll meet a new face of the Big Exo Day 2011!!

With some of the young creative minds sharing who they are, what makes them tick and why the are "Exo Day"... From all the corners of NSW they come, each with their own dreams, their own ideas and their own perspective on life, and what it means to be part of something amazing that is seeing change in our generation- kind of like you and me!

Meet Zanna…

First up is our lovely friend Zanna… Not just your typical high school student, Zanna is into all things indie… surfing, shopping, praying, talking, wearing thick frames… and most importantly, Zanna is Exo Day.

As we roll out our different "faces" of the Big Exo Day, we wonder who you'll identify with, who you'll fall in love with, and above all, we wonder if you'll join us in being a part of not just a great festival in the sun… but a youth movement who believe that not just for us, but for everyone, life can be excellent!

<3 <3 <3
Love, Big Exo HQ