A (winter) fair love letter to Canberra

Posted on 28 May, 2018

Forget the lake, there’s a new Burley in town.

If you’ve been of the belief that Garema Place is a daggy centre point of Canberra, Hurly Burley Winter Fair is here to change your mind.

A tribute to the nation’s capital, Hurly Burley is the brainchild of Little Dove Theatre director Chenoeh Miller, who wants to show Canberrans that they need not look any further than our fair city for entertainment, art, culture and diversity.

“Hurly Burley wants to remind Canberrans that while they’re snuggled up watching The Voice, there’s a city centre in their backyard with a thriving live music scene, bars making new cocktails and restaurants chasing chef’s hats,” says Chenoeh. “And all they need is your love and support.”

Hurly Burley will take the form of a day-and-night festival with music, performances, dance, food, market stalls and more.

On the precipice of autumn turning to winter, Chenoeh wants to join hands with local businesses, and you can too – around a story-and-choir fire, that is. Or maybe you’d prefer to dance the night away…on the back of a truck? If you’d just like to take in some live music, DJs Mr Michael and Sista Feminista will be taking over two stages alongside a slew of local music and comedy acts.

Former director of the Canberra International Film Festival Alice Taylor has been called in to quite literally light up Garema Place, with projections by local artists that will illuminate existing architecture. Alice will also be curating a selection of films by local filmmakers.

North Ainslie Primary School will be running a children’s area, where kids can get balloon animals and face painting done, or try their hand at lantern making and nail art. Adults can follow on from Tina Turner’s lead with five-minute ‘What’s love got to do with it?’ lectures, discussing everything from computers learning to love to China’s marriage market.

There’ll also be food and handmade market stalls to peruse, a bar for a tipple or two, free carousel rides and fire pits for toasted marshmallow purposes.

So get off your couch, stop scrolling through photos of out-of-state festivities and embrace the city – it’s all about Hurly Burley.

the essentials

What: Hurly Burley Winter Fair, a love letter to Canberra’s artists and culture
When: Saturday 2 June from 12 pm–10 pm
Where: Garema Place
Website: See the Facebook event

Images supplied