APRIL 10, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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Hello Vietnam
(Joe Mastroianni)
Vietnamese culture will take centre stage in St Albans this weekend, with the launch of a new show. The Festival of Traditional Vietnamese Music and Dance will hit the Bowery Theatre on Saturday, with a combination of professional and amateur performers coming together. Organiser Thuy Dang said it was a chance to showcase parts of traditional music and dance that many people would be unfamiliar with. “We want to bring people back to the ancient times of the Vietnamese people, so everything in the show is from a long way back in history,” Ms Dang said. “All the costumes and the dances are from the very early days of the Vietnamese people, and we will also showcase the three regions of Vietnam. “We have five professional musicians from Adelaide and Sydney come over for the show, as well as amateur artists and dancers who we’ve combined for this special event.” Up to 30 performers will take part in the show, and with strong support from the local community Ms Dang hopes to do similar shows again in the future. The show will start at 7pm on April 14. Tickets can be purchased from www. bowerystacc.com.au/events/ava. Ewen McRae
Ladies first for crossing By Tate Papworth The long-awaited lights at the Ballarat Road and Perth Avenue intersection will be fitted with female pedestrian signals if the Albion Action Group has its way. With the installation of the lights now looking like a reality, Albion Action group president Dinesh Jayasuriya said female signals would be a great way to cap off years of hard work. “If we could get female pedestrian signals on the lights, it really would be the cherry on top of a lot of hard work,” he said. “It would also make the lights unique as they’d be only the third location in Victoria [behind the CBD and Richmond] to have
female signals and the only place in the west.” Mr Jayasuriya said the decision to ask for female signals wasn’t politically motivated, but one that came from the heart. “I got involved in this campaign because I wanted a safer intersection for my children,” he said. “There’s no political push here or anything like that, it just so happens that I have a daughter so for me it’s a fitting reflection of the effort that’s gone into this. “We’ve always used female signals throughout this campaign, so we want to make it official.”
The female signals in the Melbourne CBD have become an attraction within the city and Mr Jayasuriya said a similar set in Brimbank could potentially benefit the area. “I know people stop and have a look at the lights when they’re in the city,” he said. “If we had one out here, the only one out here, it could potentially help businesses within the Albion shopping strip with people stopping to have a look.” Mr Jayasuriya said public money wouldn’t be used to create the signals. “The template is already there, so there
should be no additional cost to the public to do this. “If by chance there is an extra cost, it will only be small and we’ll raise that ourselves.” Although the lights will mirror those in the CBD and Richmond, Mr Jayasuriya said one important element will set them apart. “Unlike the CBD lights which were pushed for by the Committee for Melbourne and the Richmond set, pushed by the council, the Perth Avenue female pedestrian signals has been pushed by locals.” The Brimbank council and VicRoads have identified the intersection as a priority for lights and are awaiting state government funding to begin work.