About the Festival
Patron: The Hon. Peter Garrett, Federal Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Environment.
‘Lake George is one of the oldest lakes in the world and the largest expanse of fresh water in Australia. It is a place of myth, mystery and magic ... an ancient place, a sacred Aboriginal space which speaks to people from all cultures and all walks of life.’ Elizabeth Cameron Dalman: Original Artistic Director, Weereewa.
In February 1999 the inaugural Festival of Lake George was heralded as one of the most successful regional festivals ever presented in Australia.
What prompted a festival of the lake? For those who have experienced this amazing place, we wanted to celebrate, conserve and share it through arts and community events.
The Weereewa Festival in 2008 takes place over a two-week period from 28 March to 6 April 2008. It is our fourth festival and we have an ever- expanding program of events to appeal to many different tastes.
One passion of festival organisers is to help visitors experience the lake’s extraordinary physical presence, its stories, its history and its science. We are aware that many people feel that it is a passing dream, elusive and inaccessible. For them, we include contemplative walks along the lake shore, performances on the lake bed, (a fantastic stage in the dry spells or backdrop in the wet), sculptures along its edge, some visits to pastoral properties and their gardens, plus a multidisciplinary forum to get down and discursive about it all.
Through our environmental concerns this festival aims to be carbon neutral. We are working on three fronts: tree planting (to be done this winter); farmers’ markets, the first to be held during the festival, emphasising the great local produce and wines of our area; and lobbying for commuter trains between Bungendore and Canberra to reduce the traffic on the Kings Highway. Then add weed clearing and planting days on lakeside areas to our plan of action.
Every festival has inspired some interim activity: school workshops with artist, Theo Tremblay; Lakelife, a Landcare-based group concerned for the catchment, produced a wonderful map with the help of David Watson and his son Murray. The last festival looked at the issues of heritage. A heritage group was formed with experts in many fields preparing papers for national heritage application. That is how we feel about our place – this is not just a festival but a way of life!
A dedicated volunteer committee of local residents, active in business, the arts and the community, manages the festival. Many many thanks to: Elizabeth Cameron Dalman, Di Dibley, Xanthe Gay, Katrina Iffland, George Mackintosh, Rainer Rehwinkel, Pete Smith and Mark Thornton; also to Ann McMahon, our Publicity Coordinator and Tony Steel, Coordinator for Shoreline A Sculpture Trail.
Philippa Kelly
Chairperson
Weereewa A Festival of Lake George