Full program released for 2023 edition of the Darwin Festival
Local talent will join renowned national and international performers in what is shaping up to be a captivating edition of the Darwin Festival. See the full list of all the must-watch performances.
Northern Territory
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Local talent will take centre stage alongside renowned national and international performers in the 2023 edition of the iconic Darwin Festival.
The 18-day event from August 10 to 27 boasts a jam-packed program featuring more than 850 artists from local NT talent to returning fan favourites.
Blanc de Blanc Encore will once again be a must see for locals and visitors alike in the Spiegeltent, while new act Maho Magic Bar is sure to captivate at the new location, Festival Lawn.
The festival kicks off with the traditional Welcome to Country followed by the world premiere of Life/Time, an acrobatic collaboration between Gravity & Other Myths, Jimblah and Corrugated Iron Youth Arts.
From there the festival will embrace everything from world premieres such as The Farm’s Stunt Double to live music including ARIA-winning Budjerah to the comedy stylings of Sammy J.
The closing weekend of the Festival unfolds at the Darwin Ski Club with the Whitlams Black Stump Band leading a musical journey from cherished hits to new originals.
First-year artistic director Kate Fell was overjoyed to be taking part in 2023 and wanted to “bring the fun” again to this year’s event.
“I came here last year and got to experience the festival and left going ‘I’m not going to change a lot of things’,” Ms Fell said.
“It’s got a great feel and is so loved by the community, so I wanted to bring the fun, bring some new ideas, new artists and new flavours.
“Festival Park is the jewel of our festival, a feast of food, art and culture and it’s jam-packed this year with circus, cabaret, music, comedy and family shows.”
Major Events minister Paul Kirby said the event was massive for the Top End, with the 2022 edition drawing a record 170,000 attendances and delivering an economic impact of around $32.5m.
“The iconic Darwin Festival is looking set for another fantastic year, providing an amazing platform for our local creatives to perform,” Mr Kirby said.
“We’re really looking forward to having Kate’s input this year as artistic director and really spreading shows right across the breadth of the Top End.
“This year there’s going to be the return of some absolute favourites including Blanc de Blanc, but there will also be some local talent like Amy Hetherington who has grown year on year.
“This festival gives Darwin a lot to look forward to, it just sits greatly with the Aboriginal Art Fairs and Indigenous Music Awards and compliments everything which happens in that time.”
Darwin Festival tickets will go on sale from 9am on June 2, with Friends of the Festival members able to access tickets from May 31.
More information can be found on the Darwin Festival website.
NT NEWS TOP TEN FESTIVAL PICKS
- Milpirri Sensorium
- Maho Magic Bar
- Kingadong
- Budjerah
- Blanc de Blanc Encore
- Cusp theatre performance
- Camp Culture
- Sammy J’s comedy
- Flowers Underwater
- Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair
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Originally published as Full program released for 2023 edition of the Darwin Festival
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