That’s a wrap for NAIDOC
Troy Cassar-Daley wrapped up the festival
It was a huge week of NAIDOC celebrations, which finished up last Sunday with the NAIDOC Idols taking the stage with Casey Donovan and Troy Cassar-Daley.
The week started off with footy fever (see page 28) and officially opened on Sunday, June 1 at the Roebourne School Oval and Old Reserve with elder stories, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) food, traditional dance; then an evening concert featuring Fitzroy Express with MC Narelda Jacobs.
On the Monday night, at the Wickham Community Hall, children were entertained by fun activities, there were cultural displays and a performance by the Blackstone Ramblers.
The famous Australian chef, Mark Olive, made his way down to the Dampier’s Hampton Oval on the Tuesday night to hold a cooking demonstration and a master chef cook-off with some of the locals.
Contestants included Bianca Crake, Audrey Cosmos, Tracy Jones, Vicki Kirk and Barbara Graham.
After an hour-long fierce battle over the Webers, the title of NAIDOC Master Chef 2012, was won by Vicki Kirk, who admitted she had never cooked kangaroo before.
Also, the inspirational musicians of the Yabu Band performed and proved yet again, why they are such a popular act in the region.
A Naidoc Health and Wellbeing event featured a Mawarnkarra (MHS) Family Day and a healthy babies competition at the Roebourne School Oval, and later that night the Unsung Hero’s Awards were held.
Woodside made a presentation to the community of the Woodside Conservation Agreement on the Thursday and later that night, locals were invited to the Wickham Picture Gardens for a short film festival and live music.
Short films from featuring works by Tyson Mowarin, the Love Punks and the community of Roebourne were shown on the big screen, followed by a performance by Red Ochre.
On the Friday, ATSI performers danced the night away at the Point Samson Community Reserve, as did boot-scooters and DJ Jardi dropped the beats for everyone to dance to.
And finally, at the closing ceremony last Sunday, the NAIDOC Idol finalists performed (to find out who would take the title), as well as ATSI dancers and the Blackstone Ramblers.
The festival also included performances by renowned comedian Sean Choolburra, former Australian Idol Casey Donovan and band and Troy Cassar-Daley.
Photos courtesy by Tracey Heimberger
Tags: Echo, Karratha, NAIDOC, News, Pilbara, pilbaranews, Troy Cassar-Daley
