The Multicultural Festival to get its Fringe back

Canberra is a city of bored public servants and students, we have more amateur artists than you can shake several sticks at. Problem is the only demand for “live music” is for cover bands, wedding djs and karaoke.

If you provide a stage and an audience, you could fill it all year round with just middle aged progressive jazz ensembles. Do you have any idea how many death metal bands Canberra has?

I think the there should be a public service battle of the bands. I can see it now, the climate change folk singers vs the immigration death metal orchestra. Of course it’d be like all other Canberra events, the artists would show up for their set and leave when the next band got on, and most people would stay at home watching “Australia’s next top propaganda agent”

simsim said :

Problem being, where are they going to draw the artists from? Between the “You are Here” festival (which picked up a lot of the young-and-funky who used to do stuff for the Mulitcultural Fringe), and the Spiegeltent (which will have a residency in at the Senate Rose Gardens about the same time), there aren’t a lot of spare performers lying around waiting for an impressario to pop ’em on the bill….

Rubbish, are you actively involved in the arts community in Canberra at all? I know plenty of musicians my age (early 20’s) who I’m sure would love the opportunity to play at the Fringe. Jay Sullivan, a comedian and family friend, is still in Canberra and I’m sure would be more than happy to perform some stand-up there, especially considering he did his first ever stand-up gig at the Fringe back in ’06 or ’07. It’s just about knowing where to look and who to talk to, something I think Jorian is well suited for.

Problem being, where are they going to draw the artists from? Between the “You are Here” festival (which picked up a lot of the young-and-funky who used to do stuff for the Mulitcultural Fringe), and the Spiegeltent (which will have a residency in at the Senate Rose Gardens about the same time), there aren’t a lot of spare performers lying around waiting for an impressario to pop ’em on the bill….

SnapperJack said :

Hargreaves has gone and the task of rolling back the damage he did to Canberra has begun. Next on the list is the tearing down of the Al Grassby statue.

If you feel that way just grab a sledge hammer and attack it where it stands in the foyer of the foyer of the Theo Notaras building.

You don’t need permission for civil disobedience, simply a pair of cajones and a disregard for the consequences

There are fringe festivals in Sydney and Melbourne too, I’m not saying we all go to Adelaide, just that the fringe festival was the best part of the multicultural festival. A bunch of food stalls and tourism bureaus do not make a festival.

I like multiculturalism and think it is worth celebrating, but Womad does a far better job. Our multicultural festival has all the charm of a tent city and all the cultural diversity of a public service shared lunch.

Taking the beautiful diversity of reality, and condensing it into neat rows of white tents filled with aspiring capitalists selling beer and westernised food, such monoculture does great disservice to the spirit of diversity.

Truthiness said :

Semi naked young people was the highlight of the whole multicultural festival. In fact I’d be happier with the multicultural festival being a one night event during a two week long fringe festival. Let’s face it, Adelaide’s fringe festival is way better than our little food and tourism expo.

Yeah there’s only one problem with that, mainly, IT’S IN ADELAIDE! So are you a hipster, or have you always been one of those insufferable “everything I say, do and like is better than what you say, do and like. Plus I was doing it before it was cool” kind of people?

Why can’t we develop our own quality multi-culti festival? It’s certainly more reasonable than suggesting we all drive countless hours to Adelaide, honestly, grow up.

Semi naked young people was the highlight of the whole multicultural festival. In fact I’d be happier with the multicultural festival being a one night event during a two week long fringe festival. Let’s face it, Adelaide’s fringe festival is way better than our little food and tourism expo.

Hargreaves has gone and the task of rolling back the damage he did to Canberra has begun. Next on the list is the tearing down of the Al Grassby statue.

“no homers” you can trust me “No Jorian” will be posted on Joys office door.The colorful character that is Jorian is old, burnt out working for am radio, i can only hope a new younger better looking version need apply. Maybe the HonlyTonks guy?

Give it back to Jorian, it’s his baby, really. Besides, he does a good job, regardless of what you might think of his personality.