Celebrating NAIDOC Week in the Inner West

Inner West Council will celebrate the contribution Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have made to the community during NAIDOC Week 2016 from 3 - 10 July. The theme this year is Songlines –The living narrative of our nation.

The theme highlights the importance of Songlines to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and provides an opportunity for all Australians to explore and celebrate how, through Songlines, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain connected to Country and have been able to maintain and share sacred stories and ceremonies for tens of thousands of years.

Council’s series of events are for all ages. Media are invited to attend:

• Flag raising at Leichhardt Town Hall, Monday 4 July, 9am
• Community information stand, Ashfield Mall (opposite St George Bank), Monday 4 July, 10am – 2pm
• Inner West Regional NAIDOC Festival*, Tuesday 5 July, 10am – 2pm
Live music and dance, Magic Yellow Bus, free BBQ, Elders tent, wildlife animal display plus other activities for kids and other activities including face painting.
• Indigenous Art Workshop, Ashfield Civic Centre, Tuesday 5 July, 9am – 10am
Bookings essential, contact joshuas@ashfield.nsw.gov.au
• Songlines Storytime, Marrickville Library, Wednesday 6 July, 11am – 12.30pm
A bush tucker morning tea will follow a performance by Aboriginal story teller from Koomurri. For children aged 3 + and their parents and carers. Book on the day on 9335 2173.
• Launch of the Second Gateway, Explorers Park, Liverpool Road Ashfield, Wednesday 6 July, 10am – 10.50am
A key goal in Ashfield’s Reconciliation Action Plan is to have ‘gateway’ locations depicting Aboriginal symbolism.
• Community barbecue, Ashfield Park, Wednesday 6 July, 11am – 2pm
• Racism, It Stops With Me NAIDOC 2016 celebration, Italian Forum Piazza, Leichhardt, Thursday 7 July, 12pm – 4pm
Featuring traditional Smoking Ceremony, live music and performances, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dreaming stories, and Aboriginal storytime. Food bookings 9518 3455, 8065 8134, 0416 506, 930
• Community stall and barbecue, Ashfield Mall forecourt, Thursday 7 July, 10am
• Author talk: Professor Larissa Behrendt Finding Eliza, Thursday 7 July, Ashfield Town Hall, 6pm
Aboriginal lawyer, writer and filmmaker Larissa Behrendt has written about Eliza Fraser who was shipwrecked off the Queensland Butchulla people’s island in 1836. Behrendt uses Eliza’s tale to explore how Aboriginal people – and indigenous people of other countries – have been portrayed in their colonisers’ stories.
Behrendt’s book looks at the stereotypes embedded in these accounts, including the assumption of cannibalism and the myth of the noble savage, and how, in Australia, this has contributed to a complex racial divide. Book at www.eventbrite.com.au
• Koori Kids Under 12s Disco, Thursday 7 July, Herb Greedy Hall, 79 Petersham Road Marrickville, 5pm – 8pm.Free Disco for under 12s with music, singing and dancing, food, prizes, face painting and more.

For a print quality image promoting the Inner West Council NAIDOC Week series of events, contact the Communication team.

*If you are Aboriginal and over 50 years of age, or a carer of someone over 50 years of age, or a person with a disability, and you require transport assistance for this event, call Erema Home Care Services on 1300 118 880

Celebrating NAIDOC Week in the Inner West

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