CANCELLED» Armidale Autumn Festival 2024 – join the Giant Koala in the Parade!

/// PARADE & PARK STALLS/ACTIVITIES IN THE AFTERNOON CANCELLED ///
The 5m high Giant Koala and her baby that first attended the Armidale Autumn Festival in 2023 will be appearing again this year!.

Would you like to join her in the Parade? Join in the Stayn’ Alive Bear Gees Koala dance. We want to support her with Koala dancers AND the protectors of the forest – our native birds or the trees themselves.

April 6^th approximately 11:00am (tbc), marshalling at Tincombe Lane and Central Park- for the Autumn Festival Parade

The dance is very easy and only a little rehearsal is required and it will be led by Julie Collins if you loose your steps.  OR don’t do the steps at all just dance as funky birds and trees doing your own thing.  If you haven’t made it to a dance rehearsal – don’t worry! If you are excited by this idea just jump in on the Parade day!  It is an easy dance and you will learn it as you go.

Rehearsals:

Sunday afternoon 24th March, 3:30 pm and Thursday evening 4th of April, 5:15 pm Curtis Park

– (where the Farmer’s  Market usually are) – underneath the covered concrete shed space :

Bring you friends, bring your family, bring your kids – the dance is easy!

Here is the video of the entire dance to music on Google Drive

Disco funky colourful clothes for the Parade day and we are inviting you to dress as your favourite native animal, bird or tree.  We will have Koala masks and it will be some Funky Funky Fun.

Join us in Protecting Our Koalas

It took a wonderful team of over a 100 local Armidale people, volunteers and donations from businesses to build the Koala tableau designed by overseas artist Neil Turner. Brought to you by Renew Armidale and Sustainable Living Armidale the Giant Koala sculpture highlights both the seriousness of the threat to the Koala population and showcases an impressive presentation of what can be achieved when community comes together.

In the tableau our giant Koalas are clinging to the remnant of a forest tree surrounded by the major threats to the their existence. These include global warming and the increased severity and frequency of bush fires, depicted by the flames surrounding the globe. Dogs, wild and domestic, are a continuing threat to Koalas. Land clearing destroys Koala habitat and irresponsible logging depicted by the chainsaw again destroys habitat.  The threat is real and action is need. Locally, the Northern Tablelands Koala Partnership Program of Southern New England Landcare and other organisations are working hard to raise awareness and provide koala support.  The Armidale Tree group has been a stalwart organisation in this regard with respect to the growing and facilitation of koala habitat plantings across the New England.

Contributors to the sculpture have included Maurice Anker, papier mache master, Kel Hughes welder, Brian Miller CNC machining, Garry Slocombe visionary, Gordon Cope facilitator builder, Annette Kilarr negotiator organiser, Julie Collins dancer AND a host of others. Local Businesses helped with equipment and generous discounts in her creation. Hubbard Hire, Armidale Building Supplies, Welding Rod, Peter Ducat and Johnson and Kennedy are some of the many who have rallied to the cause.

Armidale Autumn Festival
Breakfast with the Band at 7am in Civic Park
Mass Pipe Bands at 11am in the Armidale Mall

Street Parade at 12.30pm in the Armidale CBD (marshalling for the Koala float 11:00am (tbc))
Food trucks and market stalls from 11am in Civic Park including:

An array of activities and information will accompany the Big Koala at the park from Climate Action, Wildlife Habitat and Sustainable Living Armidale, Armidale National Parks, SNELC and the Northern Tablelands Koala Partnership and Armidale Secondary College Environmental group. There will be ephemeral art to make, native forest quilting, kid’s nature play and activities around managing our waste. Get creative and dress up as your favourite native bird, animal or tree. And whatever your wearing on the day come and join us one more time for the funky Bear Gees “Stayn’ Alive” Koala dance, at 2:45 pm near the duck pond!

Amusement rides from 12pm in Curtis Park
Live entertainment from 1.30pm
And much more…we look forward to seeing you there!