1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:00,760
Speaker 1: No, I'll tell you what.

2
00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,400
Speaker 2: Plenty going on right around the Northern Territory. But the

3
00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:08,680
Speaker 2: Darwin Festival is well and truly underway. There has been

4
00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:13,880
Speaker 2: some incredible shows and the town absolutely buzzing with visitors.

5
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:16,440
Speaker 2: Joining me in the studio right now is Darwin Festival's

6
00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:18,680
Speaker 2: artistic director Kate Fell.

7
00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:20,759
Speaker 1: Good morning, Kate, Katie?

8
00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:22,239
Speaker 2: Are you very well?

9
00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,439
Speaker 1: How are you going so good? I think we're about

10
00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:25,360
Speaker 1: halfway through.

11
00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,000
Speaker 3: This is about halfway through point and it's been in

12
00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,880
Speaker 3: a epic you know, we can a bitch.

13
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, but there's still so much more to come.

14
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,120
Speaker 2: Well, there is so much more to go. Always I

15
00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:37,560
Speaker 2: almost feel a little bit sad that we're halfway through

16
00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:39,760
Speaker 2: because the town is absolutely buzzing.

17
00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:41,200
Speaker 1: Have you had any hits.

18
00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,040
Speaker 2: Well, I've been out and about. I've gone to larent

19
00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:45,519
Speaker 2: Is that how you pronounce an?

20
00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,760
Speaker 1: Absolutely, everyone says a few different versions.

21
00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:50,879
Speaker 2: Been down to festival Park just for a feed a

22
00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,400
Speaker 2: couple of times as well, because it's the best way

23
00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:55,600
Speaker 2: to really get something lovely to eat, you not have

24
00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:56,440
Speaker 2: to cook it myself.

25
00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:58,240
Speaker 1: Hey, you have some great live music.

26
00:00:58,280 --> 00:00:59,880
Speaker 2: I know it's the best, and just see what's going

27
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,400
Speaker 2: going on down there. I always love that there's always

28
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,399
Speaker 2: lots of kids sort of dancing around and enjoying themselves

29
00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:05,760
Speaker 2: as well.

30
00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,520
Speaker 1: In festival parks, we've had silent discos.

31
00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,400
Speaker 3: He's on all the kids with their headphones dancing around,

32
00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:12,440
Speaker 3: which is so much fun.

33
00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:14,800
Speaker 1: But yeah, I love that. I love how family friendly

34
00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:15,160
Speaker 1: it is.

35
00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,559
Speaker 3: And then we're Friday, aren't we, Yes, Yes, Friday checking

36
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,280
Speaker 3: Friday night, you know. Then we kick into you know,

37
00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,080
Speaker 3: live music later and into our club, are we? So

38
00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,040
Speaker 3: you get such a great mix of audiences, which I love.

39
00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:28,600
Speaker 1: Festival.

40
00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,440
Speaker 2: Look, one thing I was really disappointed I couldn't get

41
00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:33,959
Speaker 2: to this week because I have to go to bed

42
00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,640
Speaker 2: so early because I wake up so early is Bogan Villia.

43
00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:43,000
Speaker 2: Oh I know, and my dear friend Ben Gratz. Obviously

44
00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:45,560
Speaker 2: I really wanted to see it.

45
00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:47,880
Speaker 1: You know, I just went off. He came or she

46
00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,800
Speaker 1: has Bogan Villy. I came out in this incredible outfit.

47
00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,960
Speaker 3: Just the songs, but all those amazing local Darwin performances,

48
00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,640
Speaker 3: performers Nat Pellogrino, Lisa Pelogrino, Matt fred Max Fredricks, just

49
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,160
Speaker 3: you know, they're just such great.

50
00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:05,640
Speaker 1: There's great people who live here. The artists that live

51
00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:06,760
Speaker 1: here are like the.

52
00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,040
Speaker 3: Hardest working artists in Australia and it's just so great

53
00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,240
Speaker 3: to see them shine on that stage, you know. But

54
00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,000
Speaker 3: also Ben, what I love like it's political as well,

55
00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,720
Speaker 3: Like it's super fun, it's you know, super joyous, but

56
00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,840
Speaker 3: you know you kind of put some polity, which is

57
00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:22,760
Speaker 3: what artists do and I love that too.

58
00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:27,000
Speaker 2: You know, you've got to keep people guessing, now what

59
00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:29,919
Speaker 2: do you reckon? Have been the highlights so far? And

60
00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:31,799
Speaker 2: what are the highlights for the weaker hit?

61
00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:34,520
Speaker 3: Oh gosh, there's so much that's been I think, as

62
00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,720
Speaker 3: you say, it's just been all that great atmosphere. There's

63
00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,720
Speaker 3: a beautiful show in Brown's Mark called Night Night, which

64
00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,280
Speaker 3: everyone is loving. It's one of those little sleeper hits.

65
00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,840
Speaker 3: This kind of live film has been made before your eyes.

66
00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,760
Speaker 3: It's really gorgeous. But yeah, I think this weekend tonight,

67
00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:55,120
Speaker 3: Megnesia is the show to see tonight nine o'clock, so.

68
00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:56,320
Speaker 1: If you can stay up a little bit later.

69
00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,679
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's so ari Ingram from Drum Drum and he's

70
00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,360
Speaker 3: brought together all these amazing artists from Papua New Guinea

71
00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:08,799
Speaker 3: and across Australia drumming, dancing, you know, traditional and contemporary

72
00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:10,400
Speaker 3: you'll be up dancing that.

73
00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:11,880
Speaker 1: That's going to be really fun tonight.

74
00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,800
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then tomorrow night you have to go to

75
00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:19,119
Speaker 3: Palmerston for Buffalo Country. That's my absolute tip for the weekend.

76
00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:25,959
Speaker 3: That's big country music celebration. Sarastora, Shane Nicholson, Dave Garnen,

77
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:26,839
Speaker 3: The Reasons to Live.

78
00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:28,560
Speaker 1: It's going to be a really beautiful.

79
00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,240
Speaker 2: I was talking to the moms at Nitball about this

80
00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,960
Speaker 2: and yes, I've already purchased there tickets.

81
00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:34,000
Speaker 1: They are good to go.

82
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's great. It's just like it's in Goida Square.

83
00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,240
Speaker 3: We'll have a bar and some food there. Ye bring

84
00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,280
Speaker 3: your picnic blankets. That's super relaxed. I think that's going

85
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,240
Speaker 3: to be quite one of those moments people are going

86
00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:45,440
Speaker 3: to remember that Saturday night.

87
00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,360
Speaker 1: And good to you know, like I know what's happened

88
00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:48,160
Speaker 1: now for a couple of years.

89
00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:50,000
Speaker 2: But good to have the festival, you know, parts of

90
00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,320
Speaker 2: it out in Parmeston too, absolutely.

91
00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,120
Speaker 3: And tonight is the big family fiesta so when the

92
00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,080
Speaker 3: markets are on, we have the stage there, We've got

93
00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,560
Speaker 3: lots of roving activities. So yeah, it's great night to

94
00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,600
Speaker 3: come tonight. You know, always come to festival by night.

95
00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,400
Speaker 3: But tonight, if you're looking for that big, fun, free

96
00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,600
Speaker 3: family night, head down to Palmerston.

97
00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:09,960
Speaker 1: It's time to go hey.

98
00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:15,080
Speaker 2: I mean in terms of you know, visitation, like anecdotally,

99
00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,320
Speaker 2: and we caught up with the general manager of Tourism

100
00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,239
Speaker 2: Top End yesterday, Sam Bennett, just talking about the high

101
00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,839
Speaker 2: volume of people that are in town at the moment,

102
00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,240
Speaker 2: like I know the Darwin Festival, doesn't You don't sort

103
00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:26,960
Speaker 2: of go through all those numbers in terms of your

104
00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,440
Speaker 2: ticket sales and visitation until a little later. Then there

105
00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,120
Speaker 2: seems like there's a lot of people here from Intero state.

106
00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,120
Speaker 3: Doesn't they Absolutely? Well, we've got there a big arts

107
00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:37,240
Speaker 3: conference here this week. There's about four hundred and fifty

108
00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,880
Speaker 3: people who've come up with this conference. I reckon easily

109
00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,600
Speaker 3: three quarters of them have never been to Darwin before.

110
00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,240
Speaker 3: And Darwin has totally turned it on this week and

111
00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:48,520
Speaker 3: of course the festival, but more than that, you know,

112
00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:49,440
Speaker 3: they had an event.

113
00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:50,479
Speaker 1: At the Ski Club.

114
00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,479
Speaker 3: They've been going around to all the different venues and

115
00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:55,720
Speaker 3: they're all just loving. They love what we all love

116
00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,560
Speaker 3: about it, which is the feeling of it. I mean

117
00:04:57,560 --> 00:04:59,440
Speaker 3: they're also loving escaping the you know, the.

118
00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:01,240
Speaker 1: Winter exactly the rain.

119
00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:03,760
Speaker 3: But you know there's something about dah When at this

120
00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,279
Speaker 3: time just makes you feel something a bit different, and

121
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:07,800
Speaker 3: especially the festival.

122
00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:13,440
Speaker 1: Really amps that up. It's relaxed, come together connection fun.

123
00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:15,400
Speaker 1: So that's what people are really loving.

124
00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:17,760
Speaker 2: Absolutely So is that conference like was it is? It

125
00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,720
Speaker 2: organized sort of in in consultational with.

126
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,560
Speaker 1: The titched for it to come here. Well, it's always on.

127
00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:25,520
Speaker 1: In August I was like, guys, you've got to come

128
00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:25,960
Speaker 1: to Darwin.

129
00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:27,719
Speaker 3: This is you know, it's such a great place to

130
00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,599
Speaker 3: do conference as and events and support through the Northern

131
00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,960
Speaker 3: Territory Government to you know, to get it here as well.

132
00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,039
Speaker 3: And yeah, so it's been fabulous. They've all had a

133
00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:36,440
Speaker 3: great time.

134
00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:38,440
Speaker 2: That's a that's a good thing to do, isn't it.

135
00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,359
Speaker 2: You know, to have so four hundred odd people.

136
00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:42,400
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then with the cricket earlier this week there

137
00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,880
Speaker 3: were so many people in town for that, which you know,

138
00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,280
Speaker 3: and people the great thing is people come. But they

139
00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:49,920
Speaker 3: also every everyone I'm talking to is going to Kakadu

140
00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,360
Speaker 3: after this or going to Litchfield or you know, they're

141
00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,040
Speaker 3: having those tourism experiences as well, and we work really

142
00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,520
Speaker 3: closely with tourism top end to get that, you know,

143
00:05:57,600 --> 00:05:59,039
Speaker 3: how do you get people to come here?

144
00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,719
Speaker 1: You need to give that whole experience.

145
00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,240
Speaker 2: And then they stay for a little bit longer and

146
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,320
Speaker 2: then they tell everyone that's right and they spend their

147
00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,040
Speaker 2: money and it's good for everybody. That's good to hear.

148
00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,200
Speaker 2: Now in terms of you know, the shows that we've

149
00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,479
Speaker 2: still got coming up for the next week and a half,

150
00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:16,400
Speaker 2: still tickets available, aren't they?

151
00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:17,120
Speaker 1: Absolutely?

152
00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,720
Speaker 3: I mean my pick if you're thinking about next week, yeah,

153
00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:22,440
Speaker 3: the closing weekend. I can't believe it, the closing weekend.

154
00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,920
Speaker 3: But Darwin Ski Club, we've got four concerts this year

155
00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:28,640
Speaker 3: and if you can't find something out of those four,

156
00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,320
Speaker 3: I will be very surprised. So we've got the Red

157
00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,440
Speaker 3: Gum Years. John Shiman, I was only nineteen. I got

158
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:38,880
Speaker 3: to be a beautiful night of just songwriting, storytelling. On

159
00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,520
Speaker 3: the Friday night is Songs of Elton and George, so

160
00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:44,360
Speaker 3: that will be just like a fun that'd be so

161
00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:49,200
Speaker 3: fun night. Saturday night will be this beautiful, soulful Sarah Blasco,

162
00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,200
Speaker 3: Little Works, Gordy great kind of all female lineup, and

163
00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,880
Speaker 3: then Sunday night is Melbourne Scar Orchestra. If you haven't

164
00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:57,560
Speaker 3: seen them, there's like twenty of them. They're going to

165
00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,640
Speaker 3: pack that stage. It's just the dancing finale to the

166
00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:02,000
Speaker 3: festival that everyone's going to need.

167
00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:03,880
Speaker 1: It would be incredible.

168
00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:06,839
Speaker 2: Oh Kate, it's lovely to speak to you, and it's

169
00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,400
Speaker 2: lovely to hear you know what's going on. But also

170
00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:11,520
Speaker 2: you know, it's just so nice to see the town

171
00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,440
Speaker 2: really bustling at the moment and and you know that

172
00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:16,880
Speaker 2: that atmosphere I think that the Darwin Festival brings to

173
00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:18,520
Speaker 2: the Northern territories really nice.

174
00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,560
Speaker 3: Absolutely and just we you know, as I say, this

175
00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,640
Speaker 3: is Darlin's time to shine and Darwin really is turning

176
00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:25,280
Speaker 3: it on this year as it always does.

177
00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,440
Speaker 2: Absolutely well. Kate felt lovely to catch up with you

178
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:28,960
Speaker 2: as always.

179
00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,240
Speaker 1: Thank you in the park. You will for dinner so

180
00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:33,680
Speaker 1: I don't have to cook for myself.

181
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,000
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Katie, Thanks so much,