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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-09/victorian-multicultural-festival-spotswood-grazeland-vmc/105142358>
'In a world that often feels divided, a huge festival in the western Melbourne
suburb of Spotswood stands as a powerful reminder of the beauty that can emerge
when cultures converge.
Through art, music, food and shared stories, the Victorian Multicultural
Festival (VMF) bridges cultural divides.
The day I attended, the atmosphere was alive with spirited vocals of a Mariachi
band, and bright, soaring notes of a trumpet, harmonies of guitarrón and
rhythmic strumming of acoustic guitar. A crowd of dancing feet surrounded me.
Curator Nardia Brancatisano brought to this year's three-day festival — among
many other performances — traditional Greek sounds with a contemporary twist,
in Melbourne's
Anagennisi band; K-Pop dance from group
155cm; performances
by Arabic band
Marcel Khalife; Bollywood dance by
NB Dance; and African
ensemble
Firefly, performing West African dancing and drumming.
The VMF is one of the biggest festivals of its kind in Australia, and
Brancatisano says, for her, it's about "honouring our traditions of the past,
all that has been passed down to us and how we can evolve these traditions as
we learn from one another".'
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
