CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF DARWIN FESTIVAL

From its grassroots beginning as the Bougainvillea Festival 40 years ago to a thriving international arts festival today, this year’s program features an ode to the colourful history of the Top End’s much-loved Festival.

In 1979 Darwin Festival emerged out of the destruction of Cyclone Tracy. In 2019, Darwin Festival is crafting musical instruments out of the iconic African mahogany trees planted post-Tracy and felled by Cyclone Marcus in March 2018. The event, Drumming Up the Storm, is a mass log drumming spectacular starring 40 drummers performing on 40 log drums in a celebration of community spirit, cultural collaboration and resilience. Drumming Up the Storm takes place in Festival Park on Saturday 24 August.

In Festival Park, audiences are invited to step back in time with Parade Days, a video installation by local artist Huni Bolliger depicting images gathered from local archives and the community. Parade Days celebrates the Bougainvillea Festival’s Grand Parade – a highlight event of the Festival’s early years. Parade Days will screen nightly in Festival Park.

From the early history of Aboriginal corroboree to community gatherings, from the Bougainvillea Festival to Barunga Festival and everything in between, It’s Festival Season sees Darwin Festival Artistic Director Felix Preval, Northern Territory Library Heritage Coordinator Dr Samantha Wells and others traverse the exciting, diverse and sometimes controversial history of festivals in the Northern Territory. Catch this engaging discussion at the Northern Territory Library on Wednesday 14 August.
National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs).

More information: www.darwinfestival.org.au