Dance workshops, basketball, bubble rainbows and more family fun at St Kilda Festival
St Kilda Festival is back with a bang this year and families can expect a fun line-up of free activities and events across the two-day festival on 18 – 19 February. From O’Donnell Gardens, to St Kilda Pier, Fitzroy Street and beyond, expect drumming workshops, a music installation created with plants, basketball, a fishing clinic, face painting and much more.
Festival-goers can expect diverse, colourful and fun performances and activations throughout the entire Festival. Expect a pop-up Latin Quarter, Bollywood dancers, Rampfest skating demos and much more. Family fun highlights for Sunday 19th February include:
Tim Tim creates a magical wonderland of bubble art and fills the sky with bubbles for the kids to go bananas. Run around and enjoy the air being filled with rainbow-coloured spheres of joy at O’Donnell Gardens.
The Plants is a site-specific musical installation that invites participants to create their own musical compositions using unique digital instruments… Plants! By touching the leaves on these plants, a microcomputer is activated that triggers sounds developed by the composer, Cayn Borthwick. The plants create the musical experience, converting carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and the participants touch into music. Get intimate with nature, make music with the marigolds and compose with the chrysanthemums.
Yothu Yindi Culture Jam is an empowering lively and a highly participatory workshop in traditional dance, stories and language for all generations. Bring along instruments and join the jamming session with these iconic legends.
Learn a traditional African rhythm, with a chance to have a go at a solo at Drumming Workshops. Aimed at children and adults of all ages and abilities, the fun and inclusive 10–15-minute workshops are designed to improve overall wellbeing, state of mind, release negativity and most of all, bring the community together.
Family fun highlights for Saturday 18th February include:
Afro Dancehall Workshop – Jump into the exciting Afro x Dancehall Dance workshop for kids and families held by Lee and Chuby, showcasing modern African dance styles and Dancehall dance from some of Melbourne’s top Afro Dance and Dancehall Dancers. Learn some of the best party moves from the African continent and Jamaica in this fun dance workshop while listening to some upbeat music from the African diaspora.
I-OP Hip Hop Crew – Indigenous Outreach Projects (I-OP) are a culturally diverse national collective with highly developed skills sharing a common goal to showcase their passion to connect with community, especially youth, engaging them through music and dance. They will also be performing on Big Festival Sunday, at Cleve Gardens.
Mayor of Port Phillip, Cr Heather Cunsolosays: “St Kilda Festival is truly a celebration for the whole community. With the new two-day format there are even more opportunities now for families and people of all ages to come along to St Kilda and enjoy all the wonderful free entertainment on offer, and I’m so looking forward to bringing my family along to the Festival this year. We’re so excited about the diverse program of activities that, in addition to the incredible line-up of live music, will create a memorable Festival experience for all.”
St Kilda Festival’s diverse program features live Australian music, dance performances, workshops, sports demonstrations, community group activities, food and market stalls, extended business trading, roving entertainment and a dedicated family-friendly stage. Renowned as one of Australia’s largest and longest running free music and cultural events, the Festival brings significant economic benefits to St Kilda while celebrating and promoting Australian talent. The Festival has seen many formats since its inception more than 40 years ago, regularly attracting more than 400,000 visitors to the foreshore.
There’s something for everyone at St Kilda festival, for dates and times of activities head to stkildafestival.com.au