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ECHUCA’s indigenous community is being encouraged to be part of the 2021 Yirramboi First Nations Festival.
The 11-day event in Melbourne features local and international acts from First Nations people — celebrating the longest living cultures from around the world.
Creative director Caroline Martin said Echuca-Moama musician Madi Colville-Walker was already on the radar to perform next year.
“I’d love to be involved in Yirramboi,” Madi said.
“I remember last year I was working down in Melbourne with Alice Sky and she was performing there.
“She said it was amazing, I was like, ‘I hope I get to perform there one day’.”
Grants awarded by VicHealth are helping Yirramboi strengthen links with regional artists and audiences, with a focus on communities in Echuca, Shepparton, Mildura and Swan Hill.
Ms Martin is a Boonwurrung and Wemba Wemba woman and said family connections led her to choosing the regions.
“One of my visions for this festival is for everyone to have opportunity to come and engage with the magnificent talent we have in First Nations culture,” she said.
“Also, to know they’re in Koori Victoria and see we are still a thriving, living, sophisticated culture.”
Yirramboi is the only First Nations-led festival in Australia and will run from May 6 to 16 next year.
“It’s an incredibly important festival to enable people to celebrate the oldest living sophisticated cultures in the world and as much as they are our cultures, this is Australia’s history,” Ms Martin said.
“We want everyone to be as proud of our cultures as we are of ourselves.”
Yirramboi means ‘tomorrow’ in the shared local languages of the Boonwurrung and Woiwurrung peoples.
To find out more or get involved in the festival visit www.yirramboi.com.au or the Yirramboi Facebook page.
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