Guest Author - Tania Nadarajan

The St Kilda Festival is a very popular summer festival celebrated on the picturesque Port Philip Bay in Melbourne. Usually held on the second Sunday of February, this Festival has been running for 26 years today. Last year, the Festival did not take place due to the Commonwealth Games. But this year, from the 3 – 11th Feb, the St Kilda area came alive again with one big party, reputably pulling in 300 000 people to the Festival. The 2007 Festival was the biggest ever, running for 8 instead of the usual 4 -5 days of the past, and culminating in Festival Day on the 11th Feb.

The St Kilda Festival is all about entertainment, live music, partying, beach activities, extreme sports, art, outdoor fun, crowd, summer, family and friends. The best part is that it is free. More importantly, the Festival is about supporting local artists and musicians by celebrating Australian music and artistic talents. St Kilda is the perfect home for the festival as it has a reputation for the alternative, the bohemian, and the arty creative type.

This year, the Festival opened with Yalukit Wilam Ngargee - music and dance performances celebrating the rich and diverse indigenous culture. There was also an Indigenous art exhibition and market stalls selling arts and artefacts, weaving and carving workshop as well as a chance to sample native flavoured ice cream.

The 2007 Festival also had a very family oriented theme, with heaps of activities organised for kids. The Nickelodeon Kidzone was a real hit with Spongebob Square Pants making an appearance and with lots of songs and dance to entertain kids. Kids could also participate in dancing and karaoke. There was also an opportunity for older kids to learn how to fish along Station Pier and a prize was up for grabs for whoever catches the heaviest fish! Or if you or your kids are game, try the rock climbing wall.

There was a lot of beach events organised but because of the very strong winds, blowing at 91km/hour on the day, events like the kite boarding competition (which would have been spectacular to watch) and the water polo event was cancelled. However, the crowds were still entertained with extreme sport athletes competing in mountain bike trials. The Australian break dance crews also put up quite a show, strutting their stuff and trying to outdo each other for the prize.

The live dance performances on the stage at the Freshstyle Fashion Zone was also a crowd puller, as many came to see the latest fashion brands paraded. Many also took the chance to learn to dance at the big outdoor Salsa dance activity organised. Another great event to watch was the Scope Charity Bed Race – a competition where teams race their hospital beds along the Esplanade.

Another interesting feature in this year’s Festival was the Gallery Trail. To truly immerse in the artistic aspects of the Festival, the trail takes you through various participating galleries where you can experience the different artistic themes – from local artists displaying photographic work, to unique sculptures, to all sorts of original art from emerging artists. Pieces are offered at very reasonable prices so picking up some local undiscovered treasure is a highly likely prospect.

By every count, this year’s Festival was a huge success. It was grog free and despite the havoc caused by the winds, things went really smoothly.

If you want to catch the Festival event next year, subscribe to www.whitehat.com.au/newsletter.html to get advance notice of events. Most roads around the vicinity are closed on that day, but with public transport at only $2.50 on a Sunday, it is highly recommended to catch public transport instead.