1 December 2011

Washed up Idol to blight Beer And Meat On A Stick Day

| johnboy
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multicultural festival

Joy Burch has the news that:

Award-winning singer Anthony Callea and leading wine industry figure Wolf Blass lead the list of big names in the 2012 National Multicultural Festival, ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs Joy Burch announced today.

Mr Callea has been revealed as the headline act for next February’s event while Mr Blass is the Face of the Festival.

“Wolf Blass is an excellent example of the contribution migrants have made to our country and our communities, so he is a great ambassador for the 2012 Festival,” Ms Burch said.

“From his early years in Germany during World War Two to his emigration to Australia in 1961 and establishment of his successful wine business, Mr Blass has always shown how beneficial multicultural communities can be.”

Ms Burch said Mr Callea was also a fine example of Australia’s cultural diversity.

“With his Italian background he perfectly encapsulates the energy and multicultural tones of the National Multicultural Festival. To have a person of the international stature of Wolf Blass agreeing to be the Face of the Festival is an immense coup for the ACT.”

On the face of it this is odd. Why do we need headliners and “faces” for an event which they will add little to and is already running at the very edge of safe capacity?

Is this to market the event to the national tourism market?

Tacked to the end of the release are the winners of the 2011 ACT Multicultural Awards Winners:

Ms Burch made the announcements last night at a gala dinner for the 2011 ACT Multicultural Awards. Among the winners were Ms Chin Wong, named outstanding volunteer, and Ms Sele Taufa, named Multicultural Advocate of the Year.

Fyshwick Fresh Food Market won the 2011 Wolf Blass Multicultural Award for Private Enterprise while Housing ACT was winner of the Multicultural Award for Public Sector. A full list of winners and citations is attached.

[Photo by Che of the 2009 festival]

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That has reminded me to buy Wolf Blass’s wine rather than local Canberra wines … Wolf’s are much better …
What a very strange choice of celebrity – a competitor with the self-same industry the ACT Government is charged with promoting tourism-wise!

Doh, Joy!

I remember when Anthony Callea came out as gay. This surprised me, not because he was gay, but because I had always just assumed he was openly gay. My gaydar must just have been working then, most of the time my accuracy is at about 50%.

Is this to market the event to the national tourism market?

Yeah, because nothing will attract tourists to Canberra more than Anthony someone and that short german guy with the bow tie. I assume they aren’t coming for free

I’d rather listen to a scratched Jimi Hendrix record over the telephone than Anthony Callea live.

His presence will guarantee my absence. The only thing worse would be that other repeatedly recycled, over rated, talentless Australian Idol boofhead whose name currently escapes me because I always change channels when he appears.

grunge_hippy5:28 pm 06 Dec 11

take it back to commonwealth park, like the alcoholic frolic of yesteryear…

those were the days.

civic is woefully inadequate as a venue for such a thing.

It is getting so crowded. Why can’t the stalls be spread out a bit more?

Great festival that is working on its own merits, but some faceless person wants to guild the lily. Next thing they’ll move it out to the showgrounds, and kill it off completely.

Cynical, yet factual headline.

Who the **** is Anthony Callea?

I’d rather spend the money on _________ .

Will the tv singer guy be getting the same half hour slot on one of the performance spaces as everyone else?

There’s an insane amount of musical talent in Canberra. Why is there this insistance on bringing in sh1thouse B-list television ‘celebrities’?

Myles Peterson10:51 am 01 Dec 11

Garema Place was so packed you could barely move last time.

Maybe they’ve brought in an ex-TV singer to keep the numbers down?

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