Village fair with mass appeal
Woollahra’s Queen Street will roll out its green carpet today, welcoming Sydneysiders and passers-by to celebrate its second annual community festival of arts and ideas.
The four-day Woollahra Festival will showcase talents from the eastern suburbs and feature 30 free and ticketed talk sessions and programs ranging from intellectual debates to food and wine shows. The event, from November 10 to 13, will feature various outdoor dance, music, circus, magic and comedy acts by over 100 performers.
Festival director Ros Horin said while trying to create joy, delight and celebration in the street, the two-stranded festival would hopefully bring the community together via informal discussions of big ideas.
“The world is so full of things that are awful and hard to grasp and people are dying to talk to some experts in various fields in an intimate way and come to terms with some of the issues,” Ms Horin said.
“I think it’s important that we feel each other as a community in the big global world.”
Ms Horin said Woollahra’s Queen St is one of the few streets in Sydney that still has a charming village feel and served as the ideal backdrop for the festival.
Over 60 speakers will discuss literature, arts, food, wine, architecture, current affairs, politics and science during the talks program, held at the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia Hall and the Woollahra Hotel.
Temporary infrastructure will be set up on Queen St to shelter roaming and staged street performers. According to Ms Horin, three quarters of the street performances this year are new.
The section of Queen St between Moncur and Holdsworth Streets will be closed to traffic on Sunday to become the “Village Green”. This area will be covered with grass and designated for all outdoor performances.
The event’s “Festival Village Dinner” will showcase a four-course menu designed by local chefs Hugh Wennerbom and Damien Pignolet. Entertainment acts on the night include jazz singer Monica Trapaga and rock band Lonesome Train, as well as an appearance of 30 Sydney Peace Angels. Tickets for the dinner were sold out in two days. All free and ticketed sessions must be booked in advance.
By Josephine Kwan
