Key Takeaways
- Festival Timeline: The celebration commenced on National Sorry Day (26 May) and runs until the conclusion of NAIDOC Week on 13 July.
- Diverse Locations: Key community events span across the Ku-ring-gai Art Centre, Gordon Library, and the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden.
- Grand Finale: The festival concludes at St Ives Showground with dedicated children's workshops, traditional dance, and Indigenous games.
The Gai-mariagal Festival is an annual celebration of Indigenous culture in northern Sydney.
Through a vibrant program of community events, performances, workshops and educational experiences, the Festival is aimed at people who want to engage with and learn about Aboriginal culture.
The annual festival began on National Sorry Day on 26 May with events on until the end of NAIDOC Week on 13 July.
The festival will launch with a Sorry Day Yarn & Digeridoo performance at Caley’s Pavilion at the Wildflower Garden with Uncle Brendan, a cultural educator and advisor with the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Other Festival events in Ku-ring-gai include: Ku-ring-gai Art Centre at Roseville – a weaving workshop with Peta Joy Williams. Gordon Library has a Heritage Talk with Elder Karen Smith and a free screening of the movie Ten Canoes.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden- Aboriginal nature play for pre-schoolers.
Caley’s Pavilion at the Wildflower Garden – Aunty Time; a Healing Plants Talk and a Women’s Circle event.
The festival will end with children’s and family workshops at St Ives Showground on weaving, bushfoods, a cultural dance event with the Gawura performance group, traditional Indigenous games and stone art.
