Friday, 10 July, was a chilly, chilly morning, but that didn’t put the slightest dent in the NAIDOC Week event at Jamison Park. NAIDOC Week is always a time for celebration at NCNS, and NAIDOC at Jamison Park is a huge event that we are excited to be a part of. All of the NCNS staff braved the cold morning, to help out on the day.
This year, we wanted to give people the opportunity to learn about and enjoy Aboriginal culture, and to do that, we introduced our Cultural Tent.
The Cultural Tent was a hive of activity – with Aboriginal artefacts displayed, and workshops held every hour.
The first workshop was a weaving workshop run by Tracey and Saraya, where kids and adults alike learnt how to weave little baskets. Everyone was engrossed in getting their weaving just right, while hearing about the different methods and materials used in creating beautiful items including bags, hats, mats, bowls and much more.
Next up, Aboriginal Artist, John Boney, held an art workshop. In this workshop, we were able to learn the different symbols used in Aboriginal art, what they mean and how the symbols are put together to tell a story. We were then given canvases and paint pens, and asked to create our own story. There were some amazingly creative kids, and beautiful works of art created.
Performers from Koomurri then joined us for some singing and dancing, and had the kids shuffling, making animal sounds, and laughing!
Next was the Storytelling session by Uncle Wes, an amazing man that kept us enthralled with his stories about the Dreamtime.
And finally, we held Traditional Games, where the kids were able to enjoy a variety of traditional indigenous games and activities.
As always, in addition to NCNS’ Cultural Tent, there were many other activities available for families, including information stalls run by local services, the health tent, Mr Germ was in attendance, there was music and entertainment, and of course the food tent. Thousands of people joined in the celebrations, and it was great to see families and friends come together to enjoy the day and each other’s company.