Jannawi Dance Clan performing at NAIDOC 2015 (image courtesy City of Sydney)
NAIDOC Week recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements. What started as a day of mourning in 1940 is now a full week of events that acknowledge the contributions of Australia’s First Peoples.
This year’s theme is Songlines: Living narrative of our nation. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, songlines are recordings of the journeys that ancestors took when they conceived the land, animals and human society. They are passed on through generations through songs, stories, dance and painting and carry a spiritual connection to knowledge and customs from many nations.
NAIDOC Week is a time for everyone to celebrate and show respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. For a fabulous and free day outdoors, head along to NAIDOC in the City on Monday 4 July. Here are three ways you can hear the vital stories of our Australia’s First Peoples in Hyde Park
- Be delighted and enriched with entertainment that’s jam-packed with culture. There’ll be an opening ceremony, dance performances and workshops, music from great Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander acts, a marketplace for traditional arts and crafts, weaving workshops, cultural exhibits and more
- Fill your belly: Enjoy delicious tucker prepared by local vendors. There’ll even be an earth oven, so you can witness traditional cooking techniques
- Start school holidays with a bang: Kids will love storytelling, art and sport workshops, bush tucker activities and Taronga Zoo’s Zoomobile, featuring some of the splendid creatures celebrated in the Dreamtime.
Want more?
- Witness the NAIDOC Flag Raising ceremony in one of the most symbolic urban places for Aboriginal people – Redfern. There’ll be performances and a morning tea, so you’ll have a chance to meet some of the local community.
- Catch a movie in your lunch break: The Museum of Contemporary Art is putting on lunchtime screenings of films made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers.
- Hear Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander songs created in Christian missions over the last century, in a special Late Night Library performance.
- How well do you know Glebe? Embark a cultural history tour around the leafy streets of this diverse community.
- Bring your child along to a Storytime session, featuring books curated by renowned Aboriginal author Dr. Anita Heiss. Anita will be doing a special reading at NAIDOC in the City, or you can catch a reading of one of her book selections at one of our library branches.
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