Alright, the official start of the Zest Festival is only 2 weeks away! Everyone knows that it’s happening, but when exactly, some people are still unsure of. So, I thought I would do a post of when & where everything is taking place throughout the Zest Fest weekend, but first, a bit of background info.

This year, the festival is celebrating the theme of Eendracht, Unity; accepting a world of difference. This year’s festival is also the last of the splendid 5 year event, making it all the more special, especially to those who have been majorly involved! This year’s festival memorializes the 300th anniversary of the sinking of the Dutch East Indies trading ship, The Zuytdorp, and includes snippets of the past 4 years of the festival, as well as all of the cultures and countries that the Zest Fest has visited in previous years. Coincidently, 2016 is also the 400th anniversary of the landing of Dirk Hartog, and so makes this last Zest Festival one to remember.

This year’s festival will have a special opening night. Unfortunately the night is an 18+ event, but it is said to be a wonderful show. Those attending will dance the night away to the beautiful sounds of the Perth Symphony Orchestra quartet and Giovanni Consort, at a masquerade ball at the Opening Night Pleasure Garden (16th of September, Rainbow Jungle).

The next day(s) hold an array of events around town and down at the foreshore. From kite flying exercises, to markets, to mazes, to comedy performances! All of which you want to attend.  Become lost in amazement in the History Maze, learn about the history of cultures from around the world, and seek the illusive Lady of Honor hiding within. Check out the KDHS displays at the Kalbarri DHS library, and then satisfy your food cravings at the trade winds tasting tent. Laugh away the afternoon at the Kalbarri Comedy Crew’s historical, and hysterical, performance; one which I can guarantee to be a treat! Finally, don’t forget to come down to Red Bluff at 7pm on Saturday the 18th, for an insightful and undoubtedly memorable Chamber of Rhetoric Performance.

Below is a copy of this years official 2016 Zest Fest program for the 16th, 17th and 18th of September.

Just a short post this time! I hope to see everyone at some of the magnificent performances and events happening around town on the splendid weekend.

For more information visit http://zestfest.com.au/ or visit the Kalbarri Zest Fest facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KalbarriZestFestival

That’s all from me for now,

Yours faithfully,

Grace

The Kalbarri Zest fest is an event that happens once every year. It is a memorable day of when the Zuytdorp crashed upon the ‘Zuytdorp cliffs’ 50 or so kms north of Kalbarri. The Zuytdorp was a big sailing ship that was traveling to Indonesia to collect some spices to take back to the Netherlands back in 1712, (300 years ago). The Zuytdorp was a big sailing ship with masts and sails and was not as advanced as ships today… that’s why it crashed.

Two or so years ago on one of the Zest Fest weekends, I participated in one of the school shows. We, as a class, had these big drums and started banging them and showing off our radical skills which probably weren’t as good as we thought they could have been. The Zest Fest is a big day and usually stretches over a long weekend. It’s a good day for the family and goes from early in the morning to late in the night. With plays, bombfires and lots of cultural food it is a shame that this is the last year for it.

This year for the Zest festival, Malaysia is the main country it is focusing on. It’s also about unity. At the past Zest festivals I have been involved by doing acro performances and drumming. I have enjoyed the zest fest in the past and it’s something I often look forward to.

The zest festival is one of the only big events that happen in Kalbarri. It brings the community and other people of great talents together to create something entertaining, educating and fun to witness and be a part of. Being in Kalbarri, we are quite secluded from Asian cultures and access to information from Asian countries. The zest fest has been a great tool to learn and get a good taste of these interesting countries, all in our own community along with our friends and without having to go visit one of these countries. I’ve also learnt a lot about the Zuytdorp shipwreck, I never knew that a ship had ever crashed so close to Kalbarri.

In the past years I had lots of fun at the Zest fest when I did acro performances there. We’d spend the first half of our year learning tricks, and then we’d spend the next term making up a routine consisting of all the sick tricks we had learnt with our whole acro class. I loved practising the routines and performing them at the Zest fest. We usually performed our routine to a song that was from the country that the Zest fest was based on and dressed up. It was a good way of being a part of the zest fest and showing the community what we do at acro. Last year I was also a part of a little performance at the Zest fest. I did a type of drumming that is popular in Japan. I had lots of fun and learnt how to play Japanese drums which was a cool experience.

This year I’m looking forward to seeing what happens at the Zest fest without being a part of any performances.