Narrabri Shire Council to launch CREATE Festival this weekend

Narrabri Shire Council will launch the new CREATE festival on Saturday, March 13 with 16 days of creative arts, exhibitions and performance, and is encouraging the community to become involved.

“The CREATE festival includes an art exhibition, however it’s not just about paintings and sculptures, it’s also about theatre, film, and workshops,” explained Narrabri Shire Council’s manager cultural facilities, Scott Pollock.

The festival has been developed by a group of local artists with Mr Pollock leading the initiative.

“The council has been meeting local artists each month for the past 10 months and is really pleased with the engagement and hard work of all involved to get to this stage,” Mr Pollock said.

He invited everyone to get involved in the event.

“The success of the festival is not measured solely in the planning or organisation stages by council and involves artists, it also requires the support of the local community,” he said.

“Since I relocated to Narrabri to work with council early in 2020, there has been a high level of interest from the local community in getting these types of festivals and events up and running in the Narrabri Shire.

“We are calling on the shire community to get involved and support CREATE in its first year to allow for these types of events to return,” Mr Pollock said.

“If these events aren’t well supported then unfortunately they aren’t able to return.

“A simple way to support the festival and ensure its success is for everyone to invite friends to join them at an event.

“There is even an option to purchase a ticket to attend all events – it costs $115 and includes access to all films, the stage show, and the closing night party,” said Mr Pollock.

This year the festival will include exhibitions and workshops, as well as a stage show, one documentary and two short films to enjoy.

“The two short films are extremely powerful and were created by Bus Stop Films,” Mr Pollock said.

“Bus Stop Films has been in operation since 2009, teaching film studies to adults with intellectual disabilities and others from marginalised communities.

“They use filmmaking and the film industry to change community attitudes globally around the rights and contribution to society of and by people with disability.

“The stage show is called Hell Ship and is aligned with the annual theme of ‘home’.

“It’s about an ill-fated voyage from Liverpool to Port Philip Bay in 1852.

“By the time the ship, ‘Ticonderoga’, reached Australia, with mainly Highland Scots emigrants on board, the Ticonderoga was a floating catastrophe.

“Shortly after crossing the equator, typhus erupted throughout her decks, and within weeks almost 100 voyagers had perished and were buried at sea, with schools of sharks stalking the Ticonderoga across the ocean.

“Forbidden to enter Melbourne, the Ticonderoga was made to offload her desperate human cargo onto a small beach inside the heads at Port Phillip Bay, where for six weeks a makeshift quarantine hospital was established which then endured for more than a century.”

The highlight of the CREATE festival will be the Closing Night Party.

“After 16 days of celebrating, everyone will be ready to finish off with a big bang,” said Mr Pollock.

“On Saturday, March 27, with the help of live music, art and lights, The Crossing Theatre will be the place to be.

“Entertainment will include local band Three Legged Pigdogs as well as a special performance by Tralala Blip, an Australian unit of differently-abled musicians hailing from the Northern Rivers of NSW.

“Over the past decade they have carved out a unique position in the Australian electronic music community.

“The Closing Night Party will be conducted in line with relevant COVID-19 guidelines,” Mr Pollock urged.

To help you join the celebration, The Crossing Theatre will be offering one free ticket for every two tickets purchased.

“The ticket price includes substantial finger food (grazing tables) and two glasses of bubbly and the bar will be open for additional purchases.

“It is fantastic to see that the community is already coming on board to support CREATE.

“The opening night, which will feature local band, Jazz Junction, already sold out.

“Council encourages everyone in the community to visit the Create Festival website to view the full program of fantastic events.

“With such a wide variety of options available, there is sure to be something for everyone to enjoy and support CREATE and local artists.

“All events and exhibitions will be conducted according to relevant COVID safety guidelines in place at the time,” Mr Pollock said.

“This project is supported by the NSW government through Create NSW.”