The average age of people in Victor Harbor will plummet over the weekend of 22-24 November, when thousands of teenagers hit the town to celebrate the end of their school days. 

Encounter Youth will host its 21st official, annual Schoolies Festival™ in Warland Reserve, with the help of 550 Encounter Youth Green Team volunteers.

The organisation began coordinating a community response to encourage school leavers to party safely and minimise the impact on the local community in 1999.

What began as a chaotic mass gathering, similar to Queensland’s Gold Coast has been transformed into a structured and organised three-day event.

The festival runs between 7pm and 3am each night, with an array of DJs, including Miss Catey, VYCE VERSO, Lachy P and SYRN and many more, providing entertainment for the class of 2019.

A dress-up theme party will take them back to the 80s on Saturday night.

The event is run in conjunction with the SAPOL Safer Journeys program, which funds the free festival bus service for school leavers with official festival armbands.

For more information go to the Schoolies Festival website or Facebook page.