WOMADelaide

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First held in 1992, WOMADelaide is an annual world music and dance festival held in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia as part of the Womad series of music festivals.

Contents

[edit] History

WOMADelaide was first run in 1992 as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts. From 1993 it was run every two years in odd-numbered years so as to not conflict with subsequent editions of the Festival which runs in even-numbered years. From 1996 the management of the festival was taken on by the Adelaide based arts company, Arts Projects Australia. In 2003, WOMADelaide became an annual festival. In 2004 the WOMADelaide Foundation was set up as a non-profit body to present the festival and special projects for remote indigenous arts communities.

[edit] Festival Site

The WOMADelaide festival is held in Botanic Park, which is situated just north-east of the Adelaide CBD, between the Adelaide Zoo and the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The 34 hectare park is fenced off for the duration of the festival, providing an enormous amount of space. The main stages are set up around a backstage compound with Stage 1 in the middle and Stages 2 and 3 on either side, all facing out from the backstage area. There are an additional three smaller stages (Zoo Stage, Moreton Bay Stage and Speakers Corner) and three stages operate at any one time. There is also visual arts exhibitions, a KidZone, a Global Village market area with over 100 food, crafts and display stalls, plus and several bars. All front-of-stage areas, the KidZone and the food and drink area are designated smoke free, although this is not heavily policed. The event has many 'green' policies eg it is a Zero Waste event and carbon-neutral.

[edit] Artists & Programming

WOMADelaide draws its performing artists from all over the world. A specific emphasis is placed on traditional music and performances of various cultures although some more contemporary, popular acts are included. The festival runs from 6pm to 1am on Friday, from 12noon til 1am on Saturday and from 12noon-12midnight on Sunday. Artists also lead workshops demonstrating and/or discussing aspects of their performances on the smaller stages. There are also artists who do 'roving' performances through the park and installation pieces, such as La Compagnie Carabosse who set up large fire installations at the 2005 festival.

More than 300 groups from 80 countries have appeared at the festival since 1992, including:

[edit] Future Festival Dates

  • 9-11 March 2007 (15th anniversary)
  • 7-9 March 2008
  • 6-8 March 2009

[edit] External links

 
Festivals in Adelaide		 Flag of South Australia
Adelaide Cabaret Festival | Adelaide Christmas Pageant | Adelaide Festival of Arts | Feast | Adelaide Film Festival | Adelaide Fringe Festival | Adelaide Festival of Ideas | Glendi | Schützenfest | Royal Adelaide Show | WOMADelaide | Adelaide Writers' Week
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