Dust off your bonnet, the Jane Austen Festival is back!
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As Sir William observed in Pride and Prejudice, “There is nothing like dancing, after all.”
Jane Austen Festival Australia is an annual celebration of everything Georgian, Regency and early Victorian in Canberra. This year, it will celebrate two works by Austen—Northanger Abbey and one of her comedic juvenile works, The History of England—as well as the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s first voyage to Australia and the Pacific.
Festival director Aylwen Gardiner-Garden and her husband John Gardiner-Garden have been at the heart of the festival since its beginnings in 2008. Together, they run the local Earthly Delights Historic Dance Academy, which provides demonstrations and lessons to fans throughout the festival.
“I travelled to Bath to attend the Jane Austen Festival and do some historic costume research and felt it would be so special to have something like it here,” explains Aylwen.
“It’s not a single focused-event. It provides context to the life, times and influence of Jane Austen and caters for many different interests.”
This year, the Friday will have a Georgian focus, Saturday will have a Regency focus and Sunday will have an early Victorian focus, corresponding to the phases of Austen’s life and the rising popularity of her novels.
“I first read Austen as a child, but loved the movies when I was older,” says Aylwen. “I personally love Pride and Prejudice the most, probably because it was the first novel I read, and I enjoyed watching Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier in that early version.”
As well as dance workshops, attendees can choose between sewing classes, historic hair styling, theatre, singing and lectures on Austen’s works and related history. Aylwen is also a milliner, so she will be running a workshop on how to make a Regency bonnet.
“That’s just one of the many period craft workshops we offer, all of which are very popular and book out early. Often, attendees will learn a craft at one festival and turn up at the next wearing what they made at the previous festival.”
When it comes to the all-important balls, Friday night will be a Tudor to Georgian Pleasure Evening, Saturday night will be the popular Grand Napoleonic Ball-Jane Austen Festival Ball and Sunday night is a fun Victorian-era masquerade. This year’s Sunday lunchtime promenade and picnic will be held on the edge of Lake Burley Griffin.
Although it’s hard to choose, Aylwen cites the dancing as her favourite part of the festival.
“I absolutely love watching attendees who have never danced a historical dance before learning all the steps and the dances and then having such a good time at the balls!”
For newcomers, the festival offers a volunteer’s ticket at a reduced price in return for 90 minutes per day of assisting with the running of the festival.
“The volunteer’s ticket provides an excellent introduction to the festival and means that anyone coming alone will have plenty of people to talk to,” says Aylwen.
“Last year we filled the Albert Hall with a wonderful crowd of attendees, some of whom had come from the Northern Territory, the US, the UK and New Zealand. We are hoping it will be the same this year. So many friendly faces, reminding us that there are no strangers here, just friends we’ve yet to meet!”
the essentials
What: Jane Austen Festival Australia 2019
Where: Albert Hall, Yarralumla
When: Friday 12 to Sunday 14 April
How much: General season ticket $295, Special offers and Single day tickets $95-$250
Web: janeaustenfestival.com
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