Above and opposite: Local Artist Barb Pettigrew painted the artwork on the doors which represent the iconic landscapes and pastoral lands of the western Fleurieu.
Festival Fleurieu 2015 After the metro March madness of the Adelaide Festival, Fringe, WOMADelaide and the Clipsal auto-fest in February, it’s time to relax as the days shorten and the evening air becomes crisper. Easter heralds the start of the autumn holiday period, and it is time to get out and about to make the most of the changing season. It is at this time of the year that something very interesting is happening ‘en-Fleurieu’. Every alternate year for the last decade in the Yankalilla District ‘The Leafy Sea Dragon Festival’ was hosted. This event has now evolved ... and so too its name. ‘For non-locals and for prospective festival sponsors, the name LSD Festival brought to mind all manner of things psychedelic and alternative, but it said nothing about the place where it was held,’ says festival board chairman and former Arts SA supremo Greg Mackie OAM. The board decided on a new name: Festival Fleurieu: art from the heart of the Western Fleurieu – nine days of celebrating all things artful, culinary and local. ‘Small regional festivals are pure gold. They strengthen community identity, they present pathways to connect audiences with artists the arts, and they contribute to a sense of
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place and create a great vibe, says Mackie’, the former head of Arts SA and founder of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas. A resident of Yankalilla, jazz musician and music tutor, Jillian Langford, is the festival coordinator. An enthusiastic group of volunteers from the region came together to form the festival program coordination group. ‘The western Fleurieu is blessed with amazing artists and a great sense of community’ says Langford. ‘Our role has been to stimulate local creativity and to engage with the community to ensure that the festival reflects community aspiration,’ she says. ‘We held meetings in every town in the area and we invited each community to get involved ... and they have rallied with imagination and energy.’ They have invested thousands of volunteer hours to deliver a festival that the community values, and believe that a name change and social media strategy can deliver a bigger impact for the region. They have formed great partnerships with local business, and have been proactive in inviting tax deductible donations from local residents and stakeholders.