People Parties Places

BY LP AYER

No other city’s name has such a nice ring to WOMAD (World Music and Dance) as Adelaide does, since it adapts very well to the event ‘WOMADelaide’. Presenting different sorts of music, arts and dance, WOMAD encourages people to experience the music of cultures other than their own as a way of developing global understanding.

Womadelaide is much more than a musical extravaganza. Besides being a feast for the ears, the event caters to the tastebuds with ethnic food stalls providing rich fare, along with arts and craft shops offering trinkets of all kinds. A number of people turn this into an extended family picnic with many pitching their tents. This year the festival, held from March 9-12, was particularly significant as it celebrated 20 years. Unlike in the past, even the weather gods provided perfect climate comfort.

Started in 1992 as a biennial weekend event, Womadelaide morphed into an annual festival in 2003 and expanded to a four-day treat in 2010. The sylvan setting of the 34-hectare park flanked by the zoo and the Botanic Gardens provide an unrivalled atmosphere. Sitting on emerald green lawns under tall plane trees and massive Morton Bay fig trees and enjoying soul-stirring music from the East in moonlight is something to be experienced! At the other end of the spectrum, thousands of attendees of all ages waving and clapping their hands while turning and twisting their torsos in a kind of trance to the rhythm of African