The first Wiradjuri Festival will be held this October long weekend near Peak Hill, NSW, at Aboriginal owned and managed land in Bulgandramine. Its located 15km west of Peak Hill.
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Australians have the opportunity to join with Aboriginal people for a weekend of camping, music, arts, crafts, stories, astrology Dreaming, bush tucker and dance.
"The Wiradjuri Festival is a showcase of our culture," event founder and manager David Towney said.
The Festival is a project of David Towney, the Peak Hill Aboriginal Working Party and the Bogan River Wiradjuri Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.
"We have been organising this event for the past 12 months, taking place on a former Aboriginal mission at Bulgandramine which is owned by the local Aboriginal community at Peak Hill."
Bulgandramine was closed down as a mission in 1942 and recently came back into ownership of the local community in a hand over of the 500 acres in 2000.
"What we wanted to do with the Festival is to recover, replenish and provide a professional presentation of our culture to all of Australia.
"Importantly our talent has a platform to launch on a big stage or deliver back to the community for those who are professional artists.
"Sadly, its said our culture is dying and in the past, so this is an effort to resist that thinking and open it to the world stage once again.
"This annual event will allow us to not just deliver our culture but enhance it, promote it and share it throughout the Wiradjuri Nation and beyond."
Musicians include Darryl Towney, Todd Williams, Evie Willie, Michael Weir, Ronald Naden, Johnny Huckle, Riff Raff and other artists will perform over the weekend. Also, we have Jo Clancy female Wiradjuri dance group and Lewis Coe's dance group performing all weekend.
"We also have the talented Larry Brandy and Ralphy Naden doing story telling and Ralphy also dance performances."
The University of NSW will also conduct Indigenous Astronomy, telling our stories via the stars.
The Festival starts at 12pm at Bulgandramine on Saturday 4 completed at 4pm on 5.
Visitors are invited to camp overnight with the community to enjoy the music, dance and stories in a family friendly, non-alcohol event.