The Black Gully Festival, returning on Saturday November 8, is set to fill the scenic Black
Gully Reserve with music, creativity and connection.
The free annual event is now in its 14th year and brings together the community to celebrate
music, art, culture and the environment.
This year’s event will showcase 17 local acts and about 70 musicians, actors and dancers.
Performances will run on a double outdoor stage beside the creek and an intimate acoustic
stage inside the New England Regional Art Museum.
Music performances will take place from 10am to 7.30pm, livestreamed by 2ARM
Community Radio, and showcase the exceptional talent within the region.
Committee member Dave Carr from the Musicians of Armidale said the line-up would include
an incredible mix of sounds.
“There will be country, pop, folk, rock ’n’ roll, rap, world music – plus performances from
dance and theatre troupes, and local schools’ jazz ensembles,” he said.
“This year our headline act is The Chads! An exciting new funk, progressive rock band sure
to end the night on a high.”
Committee member Annette Kilarr of Sustainable Living Armidale said it was a
family-friendly event, with activities and events for people of all ages.
She said attendees were encouraged to bring picnic rugs or chairs and set up for a lovely
day out, with ample shade under the trees.
“The beauty of this event is that you just don’t know what interesting new offering is going to
turn up on the day,” she said.
The much-loved clothes swap is back again this year, offering festival-goers a fun and
sustainable way to refresh their wardrobes. Attendees are invited to bring along up to five clean, good-quality garments between 10am and 11am, dropping them at the slow living workshop tent across the creek from NERAM.
In return, participants will receive tokens to exchange for new-to-you treasures during the
swap, which runs from 12pm to 2pm. It’s a simple, community-minded system that ensures
everyone goes home with something fresh to wear. Any garments left at the end of the day will be sold, with all proceeds going directly to Lifeline.
The festival will also feature a maker’s market, food vans, UNE Discovery magic of science
show, arts and craft, creek bug collecting, bats in the backyard and more.
Other great community stalls joining the event include Armidale Urban Rivercare, Rhizome
Somatic Meditation, Climate Action Armidale, Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place,
Northern Tablelands Astronomy, which will also be doing some night stargazing from 7pm –
and many others.
In addition to acoustic performances, NERAM will also be hosting a major new exhibition, in
collaboration with the festival called ‘How to Weather Together’ to explore the concept of
climate adaptation. The event is completely volunteer-run, with representatives from the Musicians of Armidale, Sustainable Living Armidale, the Armidale Tree Group, and NERAM working collaboratively to co-create and deliver the program.
There are also about 70 volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes on organisation
duties, set-up, stalls, and parking.
Event organisers said they were hoping to attract around 2000 attendees this year.
The full program of events and activities will be available on the Black Gully Festival
Facebook page and the NERAM and Sustainable Living Armidale websites.
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