AUSTRALIA'S ABORIGINAL EVENTS AND FESTIVALS

Australia's Aboriginal Events and Festivals

Australia's Indigenous people celebrate and share their culture at many colourful traditional and contemporary festivals throughout the year. Visit a remote Gove Peninsula community at the Garma Festival or travel back to the Dreamtime at Walking with Spirits. Head to Cape York Peninsula for the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival. Browse a diverse range of Aboriginal art at the Darwin or Cairns Aboriginal Art Fairs. Enjoy everything from concerts to comedy at Saltwater Freshwater Festival on the New South Wales North Coast. Catch a performance of Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia's leading Indigenous performing arts company as it tours city and regional venues across Australia.

Yabun Festival
Sydney, New South Wales
January

Yabun is the largest single day Indigenous festival in Australia, drawing an audience of between 10,000 and 15,000 people on Australia Day. It is one of the most important Indigenous music events in the country reflecting the wealth of Indigenous creative talent. Some of Australia's best Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music from around the country is featured, from well established artists to those just emerging on the scene. Yabun also delivers a current and informative cultural program, with discussions and speeches by some of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community's most recognised leaders, academics, politicians and artists.

Saltwater Freshwater
Various locations, New South Wales
January

The Saltwater Freshwater Festival is a nomadic event that moves to a different location on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales each Australia Day providing a range of healthy, family-friendly activities for the community to enjoy. It is the only Aboriginal cultural festival of its kind in New South Wales. The festival features arts, music, dance, workshops and cultural traditions. It provides an authentic Aboriginal experience for visitors, families and local communities wishing to experience traditional and contemporary Australian Aboriginal culture. The 2013 Saltwater Freshwater Festival is held in on 26 January each year.
*Culled from www.australia.com.