Celebrating NAIDOC Week in the Wingecarribee
Wingecarribee Shire Council and the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community are inviting the community to join them as they celebrate this year’s NAIDOC Week activities.
Celebrations start with the raising of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at Council’s Moss Vale Civic Centre at 10am on Monday 3 July.
As a testament to the success of previous NAIDOC celebrations in the Shire, this year’s official opening ceremony will take place at 10.30am in the larger auditorium at Moss Vale Services Club.
The ceremony features the announcement of the Williams and Cosgrove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scholarship and launch of the Traditional Song and Dance Project and documentary.
The theme this year is Our Languages Matter and highlights the importance, resilience and richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
Council’s Aboriginal Community Development Officer Melissa Wiya explained that the Traditional Song and Dance Project was an initiative designed to provide children with an opportunity to connect with the Gundungurra language.
“Over the past six months we’ve been teaching traditional song and dance to students from Bowral High School and Mittagong and Moss Vale Public Schools,” she said.
“We’ve documented the entire journey and are delighted to share a short film and a special performance with the community,” said Ms Wiya. “Final filming of the documentary will also take place at the opening ceremony.”
Wingecarribee’s NAIDOC celebrations will continue through the week with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) hosting a series of Finding Food in the Forest workshops at Fitzroy Falls Visitor Centre. Workshops will be held:
- Tuesday 4 July 2017, 10.30am to 12pm
- Tuesday 4 July 2017, 1.30pm to 3pm
- Saturday 8 July, 2.30pm to 4pm
For bookings contact NPWS on phone 4887 7270.
On Sunday 9 July Council is proud to sponsor the NAIDOC Family Fun Day hosted by the Yamanda Aboriginal Association at the Community and Cultural Centre on Rainbow Road in Mittagong.
For more information about Wingecarribee Shire Council’s NAIDOC Week program of events visit www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/aboriginal-community/whats-on.
Extra resources:
- A Traditional Song and Dance Project teaser video produced by Short Black Films is available for preview at https://youtu.be/wlNTpPq3nb0