Atmosphere in Festival Park Credit: Elise Derwin
Considering a trip to the Top End? Then escape the winter chill and be there in August for the amazing Darwin Festival. The dry season encourages the city's party atmosphere by bringing balmy star-spangled evenings to a city just made for an outdoors event.
"It's a beautiful time of year with hot days but crisp evenings, perfect for being out and about," explains Darwin Festival's artistic director Felix Preval. "Everyone mingles, feels their best, and makes the most of the tropical winter. It's magical."
Light-twinkled Festival Park in the CBD is the epicentre of Darwin Festival's action. An open-air stage is the life of the party, surrounded by pop-up bars and bamboo food stalls under fairy lights.
"Local food vendors serve classic Darwin street food but at restaurant quality: Syrian, Filipino, Italian and South East Asian. Long tables are set up under the lights and the atmosphere is brilliant," adds Preval.
Darwin Festival is, in short, a great showcase of the city's strong spirit, which has famously survived World War II bombs and a cyclone. This is a confident, youthful, multicultural destination like nowhere else and, with the city jumping, there's no better time to immerse yourself in its vibrant culture.
Cultural celebration
Enjoy world-class acts.Credit: Darwin Festival/Elise Derwin
Darwin Festival has its origins in events organised after Cyclone Tracy in 1974 to bring bounce back to the city. In the 1990s, as Darwin gained confidence, the focus on art and cultural events grew; the 18-day extravaganza is now the Northern Territory's largest arts festival and celebrates both Darwin's proximity to Asia and the Northern Territory's age-old Aboriginal culture.
Though not all acts have been announced yet, the line-up is already stellar, starting with Buŋgul, the free opening-night concert that brings together dance, music and ritual from Yolŋu dancers, songmen and the Darwin Symphony Orchestra in celebration of Gurrumul's landmark and final album, Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow).
The festival also sees Thelma Plum and King Stingray perform at the National Indigenous Music Awards. The Northern Territory's Aboriginal culture is celebrated in other ways too, not least in the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair which, among other things, celebrates First Nations textiles and fashion with spectacular runway events displaying wearable art.
Head to the theatre for Sunshine Super Girl, which relates the inspirational life of Wiradjuri Australian tennis legend Evonne Goolagong. Meanwhile, NT Dance Company performs Waŋa, a fascinating fusion of traditional and contemporary dance that follows the journey the spirit takes after death.
World-class acts
Today Australia's hottest winter arts festival has multifaceted events that run from comedy and cabaret to concerts and theatre, dance to film and visual arts.
Talent is set to take the stage by storm. Credit: Tourism Northern Territory
Although the community is well represented through local performers, some of Australia's finest artists also appear: this year provocative musical maestro Tim Minchin makes his highly anticipated Darwin debut.
"We're also really excited that international acts are back in a full festival program with some 80 ticketed events, plus other pop-up and free events," says Preval. Also, in the line-up this year is British indie pop sensation Arlo Parks, and indie electro-pop band Confidence Man, currently on a national album tour. The band's music, choreography and outrageous costuming have made it one of the hottest live acts in Australia.
The Australian Ballet is showcasing Swan Lake variations in tribute to Tchaikovsky. Care for something quirkier? Try cabaret extravaganza Travelling Dance Hall, where opera arias meet disco songs, and Indian dancers clash with fan dancers. It's a production from Finucane & Smith, an internationally renowned burlesque company that has wowed audiences from London to Tokyo.
Just as bizarrely wonderful is AutoCannibal by circus provocateur Mitch Jones (aka Captain Ruin), which manages to be both a funny and gruesome, poignant and laugh-out-loud look at a world undergoing climate change.
Enjoy more
You have plenty more reasons to enjoy Darwin, with its impressive waterfront precinct and parklands, stunning botanic gardens and (between April and October) its classic twice-weekly Mindil Beach Sunset Market for a great array of Asian and Aussie street food, hosting over 200 speciality stores.
If you were ever considering a trip up north, August is the time to do so, with Darwin Festival shining as an unrivalled gem on the state's social calendar. And, with the festival kicking off each year, visitors are always guaranteed a good time.
Darwin Festival is held in August each year. This year's Festival is held from 4-21 August or plan ahead for 2023 (10-27 August). For more information, visit northernterritory.com/darwin-and-surrounds/events/darwin-festival
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