Prepare to run free in a rich playground of cultural wonder, as Parramasala returns to Parramatta from 15 – 17 March 2019. The Festival promises to take things to the next level with the biggest celebration of Sydney’s vibrant cross-section of cultures yet: from South American to Middle Eastern, Indigenous Australian to South East Asian, and everything in between. Crowds will also enjoy the breathtaking Opening Night Parade; the inaugural Long Table Sunday Brunch, a shared multicultural and interfaith feast for all members of the community; and the World Food Market, offering a culinary passport to a mouth-watering array of delectable delights, from Indian to Greek, Singaporean to Nepalese, featuring a special airline ticket giveaway competition courtesy of Singapore Airlines.
Every year, the massive three-day extravaganza sees over 35,000 Sydneysiders converging on the streets, laneways and parklands of Parramatta. The city will transform into a cornucopia of awe-inspiring experiences, including cutting-edge live music, vivid dance and theatre, a breathtaking parade of splendid colour, spectacular costumes, and beating rhythms.
KEY FESTIVAL EVENTS
The Welcome Parade of Parramasala 2019 will be an exciting and colourful kick-off to this three-day extravaganza of multicultural arts, food, and entertainment. The vibrant procession of 500 performers, drummers and musicians, will form a cavalcade of colour, music and movement as it makes its way from Parramatta Town Hall to Prince Alfred Square to welcome in the Festival. This year the Welcome Parade will pay homage to the world’s most famous and spectacular parade – Carnival in Brazil. Expect a kaleidoscope of colour and celebration, perfectly brought together to please all the senses.
Ease into Sunday at Parramasala with the Long Table Brunch, a free event that brings together diverse intercultural and interfaith groups for a celebration of food and community. The Long Table Brunch invites people from all walks of life – politicians, religious leaders and community members – to sit down and enjoy the sensory delights of the World Market Stalls, share stories and be entertained by performers from the World Dance Congress.
The Festival will also ramp things up with a brand new bustling food precinct, the World Food Market, offering a culinary passport to a mouth-watering array of delectable delights, and a bar area to kick back with a drink as you soak up the best of what Parramatta has to offer. The precinct is supported by Singapore Airlines, who will be giving away two Premium Economy Class airline tickets to anywhere in Asia or the Indian subcontinent to one lucky winner.
The Masala Markets will also return on Sunday 17 March courtesy of Western Sydney favourites The Westies Markets, presenting a lively internationally-flavoured market offering.
LIVE MUSIC
Friday 15 March, we will open the festival with a First Nations Concert featuring our own acclaimed indigenous vocalist Emma Donovan and the Putbacks, from the Suquamish Tribe of the Pacific north-west Calina Lawrence, Wergaia woman, singer-songwriter Alice Skye and neo-soul artist of Papua New Guinean heritage Kaiit.
Saturday 16 March is the Festival’s biggest day for contemporary live music and features the electrifying line -up including: Sydney’s Kid Fiction and his soulful pop aesthetics, hip hop artist Adrian Eagle, Triple J Unearthed finalist Geniesis Owusu, unconventional afro-beat trio True Vibenation, Hip-hop heavyweight REMI, pop songstress Thandi Pheonix, and the epic electronic duo Electric Fields.
On the Festival’s final day the music stage celebrates the incredible female voice. With a deep sense of pride in their heritage, singer’s Rosita Vai,Mi-Kaisha and Sheba Williams unite for Pacific Women’s Voices, giving audiences the opportunity to connect with their expressive repertoire of songs. Describing her sound as “tropp chili flakes” CLYPSO will bring her mash of beats, basslines and electronica to Parramasala, while the mesmerizing hip-hop star Sampa the Great promises a spellbinding set of spoken word. Newly added to the Sunday line-up is alternative R&B songstress Thando, bringing her signature electric presence and powerhouse vocals.
WORKSHOPS
The whole family can enjoy a wide array of workshops at Parramasala. From sustainable craft workshops such as Pacific Island weaving, Indigenous art with eel trap and spear making, plus recycled art workshops run by The Bower Parramatta Re-Use Centre, to music and dance classes like West African Rhythms Drum and Dance to Belly Dancing and more. All it takes to get involved is a hunger for creativity and a spirit of adventure.
MASALA WORLD MOVIES
Running 14-17 March, Masala World Movies will be an amazing showcase of world cinema at Parramatta Riverside at Prince Alfred Park. From Hindi to Mandarin films include: Gully Boy, featuring Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, direct from the Berlin International Film Festival; andThe Run, an inspiring documentary on Australian ultramarathon runner Pat Farmer, by pioneering Australian-Indian filmmaker Anupam Sharma (unIndian).
The Festival will also ramp things up with a brand new bustling food precinct offering a culinary passport to a mouth-watering array of delectable delights, and a bar area to kick back with a drink as you soak up the best of what Parramatta has to offer.
“Parramasala shines a spotlight on the real people who make up the living, beating heart of this city. It’s a warm invitation to revel in a kaleidoscope of cultures, from your next-door neighbours across greater Sydney and New South Wales,” said Festival Director Paul Osborne.
“There’s nothing quite like Parramasala – a spectacular celebration of the success story of Western Sydney, it’s extraordinary multicultural identity and its continuing growth as an economic and social hub. There will be tens of thousands of people who flock to Parramatta in March to experience the best local and international acts from all corners of the world,” said NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Ray Williams.
“The City of Parramatta prides itself on its rich diversity of people and cultures, and Parramasala is a fantastic example of this. The festival provides a wonderful opportunity for everyone in the community to come together and share their cultural customs and traditions, while also learning about, and celebrating, those of their neighbours,” said City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Andrew Wilson.
WHAT: Parramasala
WHEN: Friday 15 March – Sunday 17 March, 2019
WHERE: Various locations around Parramatta – TBA
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Photo Credit: Ali Mousawi, Salty Dingo