Canberra Festival 2012, 2nd – 18th Mar

As Australia’s capital city approaches its centenary next year, the organisers at Canberra Festival 2012 have decided to warm up to 2013’s celebrations by putting on the biggest festival the city has seen to date.

Canberra Festival 2012 will run from 2nd – 18th March and will host over 50 unique events including a Balloon Spectacular, Symphony in the Park, a local film festival and sporting events including the ACT Championships Rowing Regatta.

‘Enlighten’ will kick off proceedings with a host of free and ticketed night time activities over four of the nights. These will include the National Gallery of Australia’s Renaissance blockbuster as well as a plethora of (arguably) more interesting events. These include Nikki Toome’s photography exhibition ‘Skater’, which documents the lives of Canberra’s skating community, a showcase of last year’s best and most controversial political cartoons and a collection of handcrafted wooden surfboards by artist Peter Walker.

And it’s not just exhibitions that festival organisers hope to enlighten you with (see what we did there, aye?). This first leg of the festival will also play host to a range of live performances from a deep sea puppetry adventure by Tim Watts, a lakeside concert featuring Claire Bowditch, an immersive Antarctic sight and sound installation, political comedy with Tom Ballard, Clare Hooper and Rod Quantock and star gazing with astronomers and poets.

Plus, during Enlighten, the National Library of Australia, the Museum of Australian Democracy, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery and Questacon will all be lit up like psychedelic Christmas trees between 8pm – 1am as part of a series of stunning architectural projections.

‘Lights, Canberra, Action!’ a one-day film spectacular featuring the best of Canberra’s movie-making talent, will run on Friday 9th March in the Senate Rose Gardens. The event challenges budding filmmakers to write, shoot, edit and produce a seven minute short film in only 10 days around 10 specific items and one theme.

This year’s theme is ‘winning,’ relating to the 100th anniversary of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahoney Griffin’s winning competition entry to plan the city of Canberra. There’s still time to enter so if you fancy yourself as the next Spielberg or Aronofsky, get in quick!

Beginning Saturday 10th March and continuing until the end of the festival will be the Balloon Spectacular. Listed as one of the best hot air ballooning events in the world, the Balloon Spectacular will be a major event of the festival. Over the nine planned days, balloons will ascend sky-high from the lawns of Old Parliament House creating an amazing spectacle that will be the backdrop to the festival. Look out for two kangaroo shaped balloons from the USA and a giant beaver named ‘Bud.E. Beaver.’

On Monday 12th March, the festival will host ‘Celebrate in the Park’, a one day music festival featuring some of the best local musicians Canberra has to offer alongside some exciting international acts. From 2pm artists including Tigertown, Los Chavos, Marvin Priest, Baby Animals and Short Stack will grace Stage 88 of Commonwealth Park to keep you all entertained as you scoff your picnics on the green.

The kids won’t be disappointed either as the one and only talking sea sponge, Spongebob Squarepants, will be making an appearance alongside a whole host of other activities and amusements.

Make sure you come back to Stage 88 at 7pm on Sunday 11th March to see the Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO) perform Hollywood classics under the stars during the festival’s ‘Symphony in the Park’ event.

Conducted by Timothy Sexton, the CSO will perform heaps of hits from the world’s most popular movies at this free, family friendly concert. Joined by musical theatre favourites Rachael Beck and Ian Stenlake, the CSO will keep you singing and dancing along to theme songs from classics like Singin’ in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Moulin Rouge, Grease, Cabaret, Fame and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Fingers crossed the Star Wars theme will make an appearance too.

One of the most exciting and unique events of the festival will be ‘Telstra Ballet in the Park’ on Friday 16th March. As part of their 50th Birthday celebrations the Australian Ballet will give a free outdoor performance under the stars featuring the best bits from your favourite ballets. Australia’s leading dancers will perform a specially selected repertoire, featuring company highlights from throughout the decades that are sure to thrill ballet fans.

These will include divertissements from La Favorita, Giselle, The Nutcracker and Le Corsaire alongside an emotionally charged pas de trios from Graeme Murphy’s 2002 masterpiece, ‘Swan Lake’. Concluding the evening will be ‘The Kingdom of the Shades,’ an excerpt from the Russian classic ‘La Bayadere’, which is considered to be one of the best showcases of absolute precision in ballet.

However, if all this culture is a little much for you, fear not, Canberra Festival will also feature a host of sporting events where a cold-can and a loud voice is all you need. These include Brumbies vs Cheetahs in round 3 of the Super 15 rugby on 10th March, the Tavender Gateball Trophy on 11th March, the Big Canberra Bike Ride on 18th March and the ACT Championships Rowing Regatta on 17th – 18th March.

On the 4th March there will also be a ‘Women’s Sports Day’ aimed at women of all ages and abilities to promote unity and inclusion. From aspiring role model to beginner, the day brings together all women who want to engage in sport and fitness and will feature dance, tug of war, interactive sports demonstrations, elite sportswomen, music, kids activities, leisure and fashion and health huts.

So, no matter what your interest or age range there will most definitely be something for you at this year’s Canberra Festival, the biggest and most impressive yet. It only leads us to wonder how they’ll top it for the centenary next year!

For full information on all of the events listed here as well as the many others on offer at Canberra Festival 2012, see www.canberrafestival.com.au.

By Rebecca Jones
Twitter: @RebeccaEJones