First up - the kids are alright.
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The crowd at Spilt Milk 2019 tended to be young, and for the most part they took care of each other.
Chatting to ambulance officers, police, and security on-site, it seemed the biggest problems were dehydration - everyone was expecting a proper cold Ballarat day and got surprised by the bright sunshine.
Fashion-wise, sheer everything and fishnets remain in, as do knock-off Gucci shirts and bumbags.
READ MORE: Spilt Milk 2019 as it happened
The only onesie seen was what appeared to be a polar-fleece Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pattern.
Of interest was the amount of blokes wearing "party suits" - tie and jacket with short shorts, usually in flamboyant patterns.
There's still a lot of glitter, despite concerns about sea turtles, but there was a glitter stand that promised eco-friendly sparkles.
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(Warning: strong language)
The show itself, hosted by Ballarat local and triple J host Bridget Hustwaite, had top-notch production, as expected from a festival of this size and five-year history.
The Courier's day began properly about 1pm, but Leftfield Luxury, from Ballarat, sounded like they tore up the main stage as the gates opened at 11am.
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, from Perth, are noodly hard rockers and they are excellent.
They emerged a few years back and have scored some exciting support slots, and it's easy to see why - about three songs in, the mosh properly kicked in, with circle pits aplenty.
One young man, dressed for cold weather, bemoaned his long sleeves as sweat dripped off his face.
Another young man had his safety goggles on, which is a smart idea.
The other stage, under the big top, was rapidly filling for ARIA Award winner Tones and I.
She covered Flume and Chet Faker's 'Drop The Game', then sang a bit of Daft Punk's 'Lose Yourself to Dance as she introduced what will likely take out triple J's Hottest 100.
"I just wanted go write a song that would make people want to dance - I had no idea it would be the number one song," she said.
The crowd went nuts for 'Dance Monkey', of course, though it was a bit disappointing to see so many people leave immediately afterwards.
One man decided to show his appreciation by climbing the scaffolding inside the tent and waving, but he got down in one piece.
Tones finished her set by bringing out dancers, who threw T-shirts to the crowd - during Confidence Man's flashy set, several people outside the tent said they had come to the festival just for Tones and I, which indicates just how much of a coup it was for organisers to lock her in early.
Back on the main stage, G Flip - drumming wunderkind and everyone's best mate - was playing a medley behind the kit, with 'In The Air Tonight' inspiring more than a few air drummers.
She was the beginning of the ultimate clash for triple J fans, with Lime Cordiale and Middle Kids following on the main stage at the same time as Winston Surfshirt and Allday.
One could see groups of people timing their runs between the stages to catch as much of both as possible.
Lime Cordiale were quite mellow but they've evolved into the perfect mid-afternoon festival band, and the crowd was singing along, with an inflatable crocodile making the rounds above their heads.
A solid cover of 'I Touch Myself' turned up, as well as a trombone.
Allday was all strobe lights in the tent, which was beginning to overflow at the sides but never felt packed at the back, while Middle Kids pulled a crowd which sung every word - the band's having a stellar year after releasing EP New Songs For Old Problems.
A massive crowd built for Hottest 100 champs Ocean Alley, again perfectly suited to the afternoon timeslot.
Wandering around the site, it's worth pointing out a few oddities, like a giant inflatable Mi Goreng noodle cup, or a branded bar that seemed to have the same dozen well-dressed influencers dancing outside every time you went past.
An interesting addition was DanceWize, a harm reduction and education initiative, which partnered with Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault to help people out who weren't having a great day with a quiet recovery tent.
Also of note was the festival's anti-social behaviour hotline, which is a great idea that more events should have.
There were no gimmicky bars inside yachts or flashy show rides, which was a refreshing change.
The crowd for Dom Dolla's house set seemed slightly larger than the wilder mosh for Dune Rats, who scored the sunset slot.
Sadly, troublemakers climbing up the marquee's supports again stopped the set, receiving a lot of boos from the crowd as they got down.
On the main stage, Dunies were shooting dry ice clouds over the crowd and engaging in the loosest banter all day, ripping through a set of classics like 'Funny Guy' and 'Red Light Green Light', with a few new songs dropped in, before closing with 'Scott Green'.
Singer Danny shouted out Karova Lounge, who booked them years ago for what were likely similarly loose shows.
Speaking of Scots, shimmering indie-pop band CHVRCHES showed exactly why they're such a beloved festival act, with an energetic set.
Lauren Mayberry finished each song with her arms in the air like a gymnast, spinning around on stage in high-heeled boots.
The light show was also one of the best of the festival, though the sound seemed a little quiet - perhaps noise restrictions kicked in after 8pm?
Back in the marquee, JuiceWRLD's crowd was foaming at the mouth.
The rapper, who appeared surprisingly young, had people hanging on every word - it was also good to see a full live band supporting him on-stage, it makes hip-hop sound more raw with a drumkit.
He paid tribute to lives lost in the past few years, like Nipsey Hussle and Mac Miller, and closed his show with a burst of inspirational positivity (thankfully, not full-on Kanye though).
Despite a crew of dancers, RnB singer Khalid had a more sedate set, taking an opportunity to sing "acoustic" sitting on stage, and his fans in the crowd loved it.
Khalid's a big get for the festival, and there was certainly a lot of swooning going on.
Those after more energy were rewarded by Golden Features, with a masterclass dance set.
Going in blind, the Ed Banger-y French house influence was surprising but superb - as was the stage setup, like a shrine with candles flickering.
After Khalid's huge 'Young Dumb and Broke', the crowd gently flowed out through the gates, with a few singalongs catching on.
One cannot fault the organisers for the structure of the day - the layout, lineup, and set times were pretty spot on.
There were no bottlenecks, people eventually found other bars and bathrooms across the site, getting to and from stages was easy, and there was plenty of food and water.
The usual teething problems, like long lines and patchy mobile phone coverage, will likely be fixed up next year, if the festival returns.
One future issue will likely be mud, especially on the slight rise near the marquee stage - one envisions kids sliding around Glastonbury-style if there's a proper downpour.
This year, it was the opposite problem, with some people complaining about a lack of shade.
Victoria Park's venerable trees formed a ring around the site, and made it look fantastic, but perhaps some more shade could help.
READ MORE: Fly above Spilt Milk
The saddest faces were outside the mobile phone charging tent, where people had lost their friends and couldn't get in touch.
The trip out of the festival could be cleaned up a bit as well, with a lot of people just wandering across Victoria Park hoping they'd find the buses or a taxi.
The lines for the buses on Gillies Street appeared suspiciously short, but walking towards town on Sturt Street, each bus that went past was packed.
A tired looking man in line for taxis at the playground said he was not hopeful - apparently there'd only been one or two in the past half hour.
These logistical things get fixed up pretty quickly in time for the next event though.
On Sturt Street, fast food places were packed just before midnight, and the city's nightlife hotspots had solid lines as well.
Yes, there were people taken to hospital, or arrested, and yes, the police and security presence was quite heavy, but inside it was reasonably calm and people were looking to have a good time - one cop commented it was far quieter than he thought, but "the music's a nice bonus".
Debut festival years are hard, and the problems are always the same, but considering Ballarat's never had an event like this before, it's a pretty good first crack.
- The Courier attended inside as guests of the festival.
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