Gold Coast, Australia, 18th December 2012 ~ Bleach* Festival, the Gold Coast’s annual beach culture-inspired arts and music gathering, will announce several key events on the Bleach* festival website today including the exciting addition of the Pre Bleach* Weekend on 15th, 16th and 17th February, 2013.
Extending the Bleach* Festival footprint further across the coast for 2013, the Pre Bleach* Weekend will commence with a family evening of theatre, markets and music at Paradise Point, followed by a free outdoor music concert at Burleigh before migrating south for an experimental orchestral event at Palm Beach. As the name suggests, these three events that make up the Pre Bleach* Weekend will precede the official festival program, which runs from 22nd February – 3rd March.
Bleach* Treasure Trove will kick start proceedings on Friday 15th February at Paradise Point with Queensland’s Theatre Company’s acclaimed rendition of family classic Treasure Island for its only outdoor production in Australia. Trade Winds, an outdoor installation piece by Brisbane-based musical theatre group Polytoxic will add a spectacular fusion of performance and art over the water, while a special twilight edition of The Village Markets (TVM) will bring an explosion of fashion, arts and creative market stalls.
Bleach* At Burleigh on Saturday 16th February will see a free outdoor concert on the beach in front of Burleigh’s Justin Park featuring an incredible lineup of contemporary live music. Leading the charge is Busby Marou, riding high on the phenomenal success of their self-titled debut album. Band of Frequencies will be unleashing their own brand of surf-infused funk and roots, taking audiences on the sort of soaring sonic journey that won them the QMA Blues/Roots Award in 2012. They’ll be joined by Brisbane-based singer/songwriter Thelma Plum, who delivers haunting and soulful acoustic folk, Laneway who combine a love of harmony with a touch of psychedelica and pop, and Lyon Apprentice, the latest musical project from the multi-talented David Lyon of Fairchild Republic. Free children’s activities will also be on offer.
Day three of the Pre Bleach* Weekend will see Orchestral Maneuvers in the Park touch down at Palm Beach Parklands. Combining orchestral music and choral choirs with bold animated projections, stunning costumes and physical performance, this innovative multi-media concert is set to dazzle audiences. The 60-member Gold Coast Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Conductor Mark Turpin and Concert Master Margaret McAteer, will provide a soaring soundtrack to the evening, joined by vocal ensembles, the Voice Weavers Acapella choir and the Imbari Vocal ensemble. Based around songs of the sea, the musical program will build to the spectacular crescendo provided by Polytoxic performing Tradewinds after dark over the waters of Currumbin Lagoon. Featuring Polytoxic artists Leah Shelton and Lisa Fa’alafi, and Cairns visual artist San Tupou, the performance celebrates the stories and history of the Pacific Ocean as two women navigate their way across a vast watery surface.
Commencing from the official beginning of the festival on 22nd February 2013, the Festival will boast a central arts precinct called the Gold Coast Bulletin Bleach* Hub which will run for the duration of the festival in Queen Elizabeth Park, Coolangatta. The Gold Coast Bulletin Bleach* Hub will host pop up galleries in the form of commissioned artworks housed in shipping containers, live music, outdoor film nights, talks and workshops and even a beachside co-working space and think tank so festival patrons can enjoy a temporary work space by the sea.
Sway On Sunset is set to return to Coolangatta’s Komune on Saturday 2nd March with a poolside soiree featuring a wave of tantalising entertainment. There’ll be cocktails on sunset, a synchronized swimset by the visually stunning WaterGrace, playful beach themed entertainment with The Bathing Beauties and a fashion showcase of the ever evolving maxi dress, and the alluring sounds of Ginger and The Ghost.
Acclaimed children’s songwriter and entertainer Nadia Sunde presents the whimsical and heart-warming children’s theatre production, Nadia and The Blue Flamingo, is set to delight families with a string of performances at Currumbin’s Surf World Museum.
The most popular event of Bleach* 2012, Bleach* Street, returns in a new expanded format for 2013 as Bleach* Boulevard. A festival within itself, expect live music from some of the coast’s hottest acts, theatre, workshops, the return of The Village Markets and the infamous retro surfboard design swap meet, The Alley Fish-Fry.
Centered around the leafy thoroughfare of Tomewin St, Currumbin, and extending around to Currumbin beachfront, Bleach* Boulevard offers a smorgasbord of free entertainment over one jam-packed day and six locations. Highlights include Strange Fruit, a Melbourne-based performing arts company fusing theatre, dance and circus using a unique elevated medium. On Currumbin beachfront and high atop five metre poles, performers will bow and sway to impossible angles, creating a hypnotic dance that has to be experienced to be believed.
Children’s programming for the day includes a plethora of options include Linsey Pollack’s Live and Loopy, Lucas Proudfoot’s Circular Rhythm, Samba Blisstas Brazilian Percussion workshops, Beacholgy workshops and children’s play Nadia And The Blue Flamingo.
For ticketing, catch the wave at www.bleachfestival.com.au