For its inaugural edition, Spring Bliss festival will be welcoming audiences on Saturday November 5 for a day of music, culture, and workshops with the energetic backdrop of Hanging Rock overlooking the day’s proceedings.
Structured not only to foster a sense of community and provide a wholesome day out for patrons, Spring Bliss is also designed to leave an imprint of healthy lifestyle practices for all attendees. From Qi Gong workshops to permaculture showcases, the festival, in conjunction with the stellar musical lineup, will envelop attendees with a reassuring embrace and facilitate the blossoming of life that lockdowns in Victoria hampered.
Festival director Emma Ireland, who is also the director of Daylesford’s ChillOut festival, is very excited about Spring Bliss going ahead this year at Hanging Rock – a sacred place of huge significance for many cultural Aboriginal groups.
Spring Bliss festival lineup
MC Nate Byrne, Pierce Brothers, Amos Roach with Murrundaya Yepengna Dancers & Orchestra, Thndo, Blue House, Elevated Plains, WHISP, DJ Rich-Spanning-Time, Zac Sheen
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“I was really excited about the concept of doing a festival there,” says Ireland. “Because the site is magnificent, it’s quite a spiritual place.”
“We are trying to really honour First Nations artists and activities as well. Hanging Rock is located near the traditional boundary between three Aboriginal Traditional Owner groups – the Woi Wurrung (Wurundjeri), the Djaara and the Taungurung.”
The day will commence with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony conducted by Taungurung elder Uncle Stephen Walsh: “If people come up early, we are doing a welcome to country and a smoke ceremony at 10:30am and the mayor is opening it.”
Then the music and workshops will begin, with allocated timeslots for each performer or activity. Although, some workshops will be running all day.
“The music is running the whole day,” says Ireland. “The workshops have their own thing going on. There will be Alice Miller School theatre all day. There’s also clothes swapping – you don’t have to swap clothes as such, you just come in and try on different clothes, which is fun for everybody.”
There will also be First Nations craft activities running all day with Auntie Judy, and a bar open serving local beverages and plenty of food for everyone. Ireland’s advice is to bring a picnic rug and a few chairs and set in for a wonderful day.
In an attempt to include the skills regional Victorians, have to offer, most of the workshops will be run by people living in the central Victorian area.
“All these people come from regional areas,” says Ireland. “So, it’s like a food and wine festival and you’re tasting cheese from certain areas, but this is the workshop tasting plate of regional areas.”
“Beautiful Richard Moffat is coming in to do the Qi Gong and breath work. The singing and ukulele workshop is being run by a Woodend music teacher – Katie Yung. Permaculture comes out of Daylesford run by David Holgram and Sue Bennett. The hip-hop is from between Ballarat and Bendigo – The Existence Crew go all around regional areas from Geelong to Ararat, they’re amazing and the yoga comes out of Hepburn.”
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Stacked with an eclectic array of workshops tailored to get families involved, there are specific workshops for children, but most of the activities are designed to be inclusive for all.
“The workshops aren’t just for adults or kids they’re for families,” says Ireland. “The kids’ zone might be younger kids doing the little kids’ version of things. The actual workshop zone is not just for adults it’s for everyone.”
However, if highly interactive workshops aren’t for you there is also a designated quiet zone – a sensory space specifically for children with special needs, or people who want a quiet space.
“I always focus on accessibility, but this was just another new thing to add,” says Ireland. “To have a quiet zone for people who need to come in and out of what is going on.”
The day of workshops will be rounded out by a session fostering positive self-affirmation and a discussion centred around body image.
“At the end of the workshop day we’ve got a teenage witch workshop which is for all kids, it’s just some beautiful local muses and witches who have come together to do some fun positive affirmation stuff. Then there is a talk on body image, which is an interactive discussion, and we think that is an important thing to talk about, but most of it is pretty light on throughout the day except that end bit.”
Alongside the wealth of workshops being run on the day, the music complementing such will be just as satiating for the soul.
“We’ve got some upcoming artists that people don’t know so well and we’ve got bands that people do know like Blue House Duo, The Pierce Brothers, Amos Roach is doing beautiful songs and dance with the Murrundaya Yepengna Dance Troupe and Orchestra – they are the highlight of the culture side of the day. Then we’ve got Thndo, who came in as a bonus as initially she wasn’t available, but I’ve popped her on the end.”
The festival is set to be a day of nourishment, where patrons can revel in the growth that comes with spring. Find out more info and grab tickets here.
This article was made in partnership with Spring Bliss festival.
