Please note: this is an archived news article release

This article was published on Monday, 24 February, 2014. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

Emerge at Twilight Festival on this Saturday

Come and discover the many sounds, flavours and colours of Greater Shepparton with the second Emerge at Twilight Festival at Victoria Park Lake on Saturday 1^st March 2014 from 4pm til 10pm.

This year Emerge at Twilight will open SheppARTon Festival with a unique and colourful family event that celebrates and gives voice to many of Shepparton’s new refugee and emerging multicultural artists alongside their talented brothers and sisters from local Indigenous communities. People of all ages and backgrounds are invited to come together, share stories and proudly celebrate their many and diverse cultures with an exciting and interactive free program encompassing nonstop music and dance performances, authentic cultural foods from around the globe, indigenous and multicultural children’s arts and crafts including Didgeridoo, weaving and boomerang painting workshops from Gallery Kaiela, recycled tribal jewellery and facepainting, outdoor games and activities, henna painting and hair braiding, a multicultural soccer friendly and a special interactive arts installation from Polyglot – all to be topped off with a spectacular fireworks display at the end of the night!

The festival will commence at 4pm with a special Welcome Ceremony from Shepparton’s local Indigenous community featuring Welcome to Country and Smoking from elder Shane Charles, traditional music and dance from Shane Clarke and the Dungalla Dancers, a special performance from extraordinary young singing talent Lily Walker and a tribute to local Indigenous people from Congolese born artist Monga J Mukasa. Be amazed by traditional Samoan sasa and dance from new local group Generation Ignite; African gospel harmonies from St.Paul’s Lutheran Church Choir; traditional Indonesian songs from Oz Team Padamara; colourful and vibrant Punjabi dance and drums from Melbourne Bhangra Regiment; stunning costumes and dance from Melbourne Albanian Community Folkloric Dance Group and the local Filipino Australia Friends; African hip hop talents Young Ugees; the SheppARTon Arts Festival choir singing the 2014 theme song and more.

By popular demand Afghan Hazara pop singer Taqi Khan will return to this year’s stage to be followed by rootsy funk and soul tunes from Illana Atkinson and The Deans. The night will finish on a high with headline act Lamine Sonko and The African Intelligence- an amazing new 10 piece West African band performing an infectious blend of Afro-Beat, funk and jazz grooves. Emerge at Twilight is produced by Greater Shepparton City Council, Multicultural Arts Victoria and Word and Mouth working in partnership with a community advisory group that includes over 30 members from Afghan, Iraqi, Indian, Burundian, Congolese, Zimbabwean, Filipino, Samoan, Yorta Yorta, Sri Lankan, Anglo Australian and Albanian backgrounds. The group meets regularly at Shepparton English Language Centre and Eastbank to plan a festival that will be truly inclusive and that promotes diversity, respect and the breaking down of racism.

As well as showcasing cultures Emerge at Twilight aims to actively break down barriers and provide pathways into the arts and community life for refugee, emerging multicultural and local Indigenous artists and communities. In 2014 the festival is working alongside TAFE to provide Food Safety qualifications for community members who would like to run food stalls at the festival. Audiences can expect to be delighted by delicious and exotic foods from West Africa, Iraq, Philippines, Samoa, India, Albania, Sudan and more! An initiative of Multicultural Arts Victoria, Emerge Festivals are presented annually in 6 locations around Victoria to celebrate the cultures of local newly arrived refugee and emerging multicultural communities and to connect these newer arrivals to their local Indigenous and broader communities. Refugees are survivors who have been forced to leave their whole lives behind due to persecution and they have survived because they have had courage, ingenuity and creativity.

The only festival of its kind, Emerge unearths the incredible talents these people have brought to Australia and provides an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to share and celebrate rich and undiscovered cultures all the way from Africa to the Far East, from the traditional to the contemporary.

Website: www.greatershepparton.com.au
Produced and presented by:, Greater Shepparton City Council, Multicultural Arts Victoria and Word and MouthSponsored by:
Riverlinks Venues, Office for Multicultural Affairs Citizenship, Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Victoria Supported by:Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation, SheppARTon Arts Festival, UnitingCare Cutting Edge, Shepparton English Language Centre, The Bridge, FamilyCare, Relationships Australia.