Welcome Message
The Hon Clare Martin MLA
Chief Minister
It's cool. It's dry. It's time to rejoice!
Exploding bougainvilleas are splashing across our fences and the nights demand celebration. An outrageous variety of entertainment and cultural enrichment is about to overwhelm Top Enders as the lights get set to go up on the 2005 Darwin Festival. So I urge all Territorians to get out there and get stuck into the cavalcade of theatre, cabaret, music, dance and visual art on offer. Festival time means colour and life and above all - fun!
His Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor
Peter Adamson
Darwin is dynamic, different and diverse and so too is the Darwin Festival - a feast of cultural, artistic and musical events.
I am looking forward to attending many of the wonderful venues on the program this year and encourage everyone to come and share this unique experience as there is something to appeal to every age group.
There are not many places in Australia that such a full program over a number of days can be held in perfect weather set against spectacular natural backdrops or quality indoor venues.
To the many visitors to Darwin, welcome, to the many supporters of the Festival, thank you and to our wonderful arts community, congratulations on what I am sure will be another spectacular occasion.
Peter McQueen
Chairman Darwin Festival
The Board of the Darwin Festival is pleased to present a calendar of events for 2005. We encourage you to set aside time to attend one or more of the events.
Visit the Star Shell in the Botanic Gardens on any night during the Festival to experience the enchantment of the venue and the performances.
The Festival showcases the wide diversity of cultures in Darwin as a regular reminder of how fortunate we are to live in harmony in the Top End of Australia.
All visitors are extremely welcome.
Malcolm Blaylock, Artistic Director
The images, the sights, the sounds and the performances that you experience at the Festival are the stories of our culture.
We make sense of existence by telling the stories of our times. The complexities of our thoughts, our actions, our behaviour, our view of the world and our understanding of others are formed, and filtered through the shared experience of our storytelling.
Cultural expression provides us with an analysis and an understanding of who we are.
This Festival enables the storyteller to connect with the rest of the world, to express their thoughts, to dream their dreams, to touch and change the lives of others.
In 18 days, we tell 145 stories, present 145 views of the world, show 145 Australian perspectives, all of which have the ability and potential to affect and change the lives of all that enter into their sphere.
The Darwin Festival will not only entertain you but will also challenge and enhance your view of the world.
I invite you to immerse yourself in an extraordinary cultural experience.
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