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Speaker 1: Now.

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Speaker 2: It is a very exciting time to be in Darwin.

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Speaker 1: There is no doubt about that because the Darwin Festival,

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Speaker 1: well it gets underway today with dazzling opening night celebration.

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Speaker 1: Is it's going to be incredible, It absolutely always is.

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Speaker 1: And joining me on the line right now is the

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Speaker 1: Darwin Festival's Artistic director Kate Fell.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Kate, Good.

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Speaker 3: Morning Katie, thanks for having me.

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Speaker 2: Wonderful to have you on the show, Kate.

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Speaker 1: It is such a busy time, but what a wonderful

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Speaker 1: time for Darwin and it all kicks off tonight and no, we.

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Speaker 3: Can't wait to really open Festival Park and Festival Lawn tonight,

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Speaker 3: as well as lots of fantastic shows and galleries all

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Speaker 3: across the city. So it's a very special time and

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Speaker 3: can't wait to see all the audiences in Darwen come

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Speaker 3: out in all.

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Speaker 2: So talk us through what's planned for opening night.

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Speaker 3: Yes, so, look, we've got a beautiful show called Lifetime.

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Speaker 3: It's a collaboration between Gravity and Other Myths who are

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Speaker 3: a fantastic circus company and they're collaborating with Corrugated Iron,

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Speaker 3: Youth Lance, Darwin Zone as well as some students from

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Speaker 3: Ludmiller Primary School and there's a performance at eight o'clock

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Speaker 3: free performance in the park where you'll see this gorgeous

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Speaker 3: kind of circus happening all around the venue and will

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Speaker 3: be a really special special moment of the festival. But

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Speaker 3: also just come down. All the food is there, we'll

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Speaker 3: have free music and lots of shows as well, So

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Speaker 3: just enjoy the atmosphere tonight, and yeah, make sure you

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Speaker 3: get some tickets as well.

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Speaker 1: It is such a great time. I'd love to know

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Speaker 1: from locals, you know how many nights a week do

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Speaker 1: you end up eating out at Festival Park because.

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Speaker 2: It's really just the ey'st and funnest thing to do.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, And yeah, there's really great new food this year.

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Speaker 3: I mean Alabama, Minola, everyone is very excited about. We've

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Speaker 3: got burgers, We've got you know, three moms, like so

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Speaker 3: many great yessolutely, I've got my food plan for the festival.

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Speaker 1: Now tell me there are so many events planned for

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Speaker 1: the entire festival.

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Speaker 2: But what have some of the standouts.

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Speaker 3: Oh my goodness, there's so many we've got come. You

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Speaker 3: know what I love about the festival is there's festivals

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Speaker 3: within the festival. We've got this fantastic comedy festival. We've

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Speaker 3: been Darwin Festival, you know. For next week we've got

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Speaker 3: Dave Thoughton, We've got Meltbuddle who is really one of

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Speaker 3: my favorites, and Lloyd Langford that's just next week. That

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Speaker 3: is one kind of thing we've got. Of course, the

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Speaker 3: Spiegel tentch back, we've Blanked a Blanc on Core and

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Speaker 3: then markin Magic Bar and both those shows are on

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Speaker 3: Festival Lawn right in front of Parliament House, so that's

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Speaker 3: going to be a really special part of the festival.

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Speaker 3: We've got Robin Archer Darwen Entertainment Center and a fantastic

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Speaker 3: show this weekend called I'm with Her, which is it's

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Speaker 3: kind of been really interesting play based on eight real

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Speaker 3: life Australian women, stories of resistance in the age of

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Speaker 3: sexism and me too and all of those things. And

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Speaker 3: that's got a cast of eight Darwin women who will

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Speaker 3: be reading this play. So something really interesting for those

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Speaker 3: who you know, like something a bit more adventurous too.

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Speaker 1: Now there has been a lot of well, you know,

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Speaker 1: I guess there's always something that's a little bit unique

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Speaker 1: or different over the years who've seen a lot of that.

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Speaker 1: Is there anything that is a little bit different this

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Speaker 1: year to what we've maybe seen in the past.

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Speaker 3: I think the two things that I've really tried to

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Speaker 3: bring to the festival this year. I really wanted to

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Speaker 3: make sure there was lots on offer for kids and

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Speaker 3: young people and families. You know, no, there's lots of

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Speaker 3: families here in Darwin, and for me, it's always been

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Speaker 3: a really important part of what I've done in my

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Speaker 3: career is how to make sure children and young people

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Speaker 3: can experience arts and culture. So there's lots of great

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Speaker 3: festival shows as well as in Festival Park will have

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Speaker 3: a new space called the Colton Twilight Playgrounds. It interactive installations,

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Speaker 3: so when you're there having your dinner, the kids can

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Speaker 3: kind of play on these really interesting high lightened sound installations.

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Speaker 3: So lots of things like that. We've got City of

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Speaker 3: Darwin's Teddy Bes Picnic this weekend as well on the Sunday,

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Speaker 3: So really wanted to make sure the kids and families

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Speaker 3: could really be part of the festival. So I love

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Speaker 3: really please see that response this year too.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that, and I think that it is

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Speaker 1: you know, it does just open up to a whole

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Speaker 1: other audience as well.

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Speaker 2: Doesn't it. The young ones.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, and also to come as a whole family, you know,

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Speaker 3: when you know you've got teenagers as well. There's lots

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Speaker 3: of shows of a great show called DJ Versus Downside.

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Speaker 3: It's like these hip hop artists. So it's not a

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Speaker 3: show for kids exactly, but if you've got a twelve

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Speaker 3: or fourteen year old or whatever, they will love it

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Speaker 3: just as much as you will. So they're the shows

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Speaker 3: that I really look for, those things that I think kids, adults, grandparents, whoever,

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Speaker 3: everyone will really enjoy and can come along together.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that is so good. That's wonderful to hear.

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Speaker 1: Now, tell me, have you had a lot of interest

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Speaker 1: from interstate visitors? And are we expecting a lot of

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Speaker 1: a lot of tourists at the festival this year?

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Speaker 3: I think so, you know, especially you're certainly seeing the

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Speaker 3: mountain about this weekend. I've got a lot of people

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Speaker 3: I know who are here. A lot of people come

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Speaker 3: up for this opening weekend for you know, at the Festival,

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Speaker 3: for Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, for the Indigenous Music Awards,

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Speaker 3: just so much on this weekend, so you know, make

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Speaker 3: sure you kind of get out amongst it. But yeah,

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Speaker 3: certainly we're hearing. There's lots of people coming and really

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Speaker 3: taking advantage of what's such an amazing time to be

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Speaker 3: here in Darwin.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it truly is.

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Speaker 1: Well. Kate Fell, the Darwin Festival Artistic Director, lovely to

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Speaker 1: speak with you this morning. All the very best. I

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Speaker 1: hope you get some sleep. Throughout the next several days.

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Speaker 1: It's going to be busy.

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Speaker 3: The plan.

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Speaker 2: That's a good plan. I reckon, Kate, You're going to

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Speaker 2: be very busy. Thank you so much for your time

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Speaker 2: this morning.