Bluesfest returns Indigenous event Boomerang

PRESS RELEASE:

Straight off the back of winning the Best Major Event award at The North Coast Tourism Awards this weekend (its sixth North Coast Tourism Award & fifth consecutive gold), Bluesfest is welcoming back its much loved cultural and Indigenous event: The Boomerang Festival.

Boomerang will host its own space next to the JIMBALYA stage.

Managed and programmed from an Aboriginal perspective, Boomerang is a dedicated Indigenous performance and interactive event that showcases our amazing, important Indigenous art & culture. It is aimed to provide Aboriginal access for all those wishing to engage in a quality, unique, true Indigenous experience.

Bluesfest will come alive with this new family-friendly precinct offering an inspiring, enlivening & diverse program of dance, language, story, talks & ideas, carving, weaving, and traditional healing programs by some of Australia and the world’s foremost masters of their art.

After a successful debut in 2013, Boomerang Festival, held as an independent event on the Bluesfest site, was nominated for the Best New Event at the 2014 Australian Events Awards and Best Indigenous Tourism for the 2014 NSW State Tourism Awards. Despite resounding critical, industry and audience acclaim, Boomerang was unable to secure funding in order to present in the same format this year.

Recognising the importance of this ground-breaking event, Bluesfest Director Peter Noble and his team have been working with Boomerang Festival Director Rhoda Roberts to ensure it survives and thrives despite a temporary obstacle, and invites audiences and the wider community to join them in celebrating and supporting this wonderful local event.

“The Boomerang precinct at Bluesfest is all about cherishing culture and ending the disparity between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia.  This intergenerational exchange will allow our loyal audiences a unique hands-on engagement and experience, while allowing the Boomerang Festival to build audiences and find support as a future a stand-alone festival” - Peter Noble

“Our vision is to integrate culture in peoples’ everyday life. Having ready access to live culture from the globes first peoples is essential for our future as a cultural leader worldwide. The growth of Boomerang and the opportunity to have a focus at Bluesfest has many positive, layered outcomes, most importantly increasing community pride and wellbeing, and continuing the region’s vibrant philosophy as a leading festival destination” - Rhoda Roberts

Bluesfest is proud to be one of the major contributors to the rich cultural fabric and artistic wealth across Northern NSW that entices thousands of people to the region every year.

It now adds to that prosperity with the Boomerang Festival at Bluesfest 2016. This is a true privilege for the Northern Rivers as well as Bluesfest and its audience to be part of, and is set to please a great many of festival goers.

The full program will be released soon.