By Parker McKenzie
Activities, workshops, rides, community stalls and stage performances will all be a part of the free Knox Festival event setto be held on Saturday 4 March at Wally Tew Reserve in Ferntree Gully.
The annual event, which runs from 10am to 10pm, features two stages of live music and performances, amusement rides, food trucks, a global kitchen hosted by Lillie Giang, roving performers, a kid’s hub, sporting activities and a fireworks finale at 10pm.
Jessica Shaw from True Fairies said the organisation’s all-female performers will be hosting an installation called The Dream World during the festival.
“Each year, we do a customised scene in a very large area for families, where we provide design and actors,” she said.
“It’s going to be a creative installation made by local artists that incorporates dream characters. We’ll have the Sandman, we’ll have a mermaid, we’ll have giant smoke bubbles and it’s going to feel like you’re in a cloudland as you walk through the themed area and meet the characters.”
Other activities include art, science, pottery and woodworking workshops, a dreaming space with Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place, multicultural cooking demonstrations and a community stage.
Artist Sonia Zymantas said her installation involves the work of local school children on pillowcases.
“I asked the kids to brainstorm the concept dreams for them and dreams for others, and come up with words that were meaningful for the audience to connect with,” she said.
“When you look at them hanging up, it reflects poetry and I’ve created a series of dream pillows that people can lie on and look up at the installation and read the text.”
Mr Zymantas will also be running an art workshop on the day, where attendees can create flags using recycled materials.
“I love creating art spaces in public and the vibrancy of festivals because they are a fun place to be,” she said.
“I enjoy watching people bring out their creative self, share their perspective and find opportunities for expressing themselves.”
Ms Shaw said True Fairies has been working with Knox City Council for around six years, but this is the second time they’ve been involved in Knox Festival.
“What I love about Knox is they give us quite a broad idea and then let us run with it through our creative team,” she said.
“We’ve got a creative and design team of four different people, we bring together the things that we love which is fantasy and then we bring fairy tales to life.”
The full schedule of Knox Festival 2023 can be found at knox.vic.gov.au/whats-happening/events-activities-and-festivals/festivals-and-civic-events/knox-festival
