Candelo Village Festival returns this April to celebrate Bega Valley spirit

The Candelo Village Festival returns on 17 April and will showcase the many talents of people from the Bega Valley, from stellar musicians to speakers inspiring positive change.

However, the festival is not the only major event happening on the Far South Coast on 17 April. Just down the road, in Pambula, there is the Ephemeral Festival as well as Flourish quarterly market.

Candelo Village Festival

What will set this year’s Candelo Village Festival apart from previous events is that it will be almost exclusively local, says director Tamlyn Magee.

“In the past we have had interstate and overseas acts, which have been great, but this is primarily a celebration of local people,” she says.

The festival’s evening program at Candelo Town Hall will cap off the event from 7:00 pm, featuring chart-topping country trio The New Graces, collaborative songwriting project One Gener8ion, and Forest Theatre, a multiplatform work weaving imagery and live performance around the theme of loving planet Earth.

Tickets to the rest of the festival are free, including access to three stages, art installations, street performances, food vendors and market stalls.

Tamlyn says among the many performances lined up will be ‘Things Are Looking Up: Songs From Yuin Country’ from 6:00 pm in the Candelo park, which she describes as a collaborative performance between cultures.

Commissioned by Four Winds, it will feature 10 Candelo musicians, the Djinama Yilaga Choir and Djiringanj rapper Gabadoo.

Everyone is encouraged to arrive for the welcome to country at 10:00 am before world group Benji and the Saltwater Sound System kick off performing from 11:00 am.

Other musicians performing include alt-country soloist Corey Legge and songwriter and guitarist David Ross Macdonald, with a youth showcase featuring the likes of country singer Felicity Dowd.

There will also be talks and panel discussions between experts all day on topics such as regenerative agriculture and cultural burning.

Workshops will run on activities such as weaving, art, circus and juggling.

Tamlyn says the festival has a focus on people who are working for positive change, such as social activists and environmentalists.

“It’s very relevant to put a spotlight on people who are not working for material gain or ego reasons, but want to do the best they can for everyone,” she says.

“It feels like that’s where we need to be as a collective group of humans.”

Tamlyn says the whole community is excited for the festival and many people have jumped onboard to make it happen.

“I hope it’s a rejuvenating day that we will all get to relax after such a stressful year and decompress together,” she says.

Candelo Village Festival is on 17 April. Tickets are available here.

Ephemeral Festival

The Ephemeral Festival celebrates the landscape of the Panboola Wetlands and the creativity it inspires.

Visitors can wander the grounds of the wetlands and enjoy art installations, music, workshops, craft demonstrations and stalls.

Make sure you bring a picnic blanket and enjoy the offerings of food and beverage carts.

The festival is held on 17 April from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Pambula’s Panboola Wetlands.

Flourish quarterly market

The Flourish quarterly market’s inaugural event in January 2021 was hailed as an outstanding success, attracting visitors from all over the Bega Valley with many stalls selling out on the day.

The Flourish philosophy is to re-establish a small, niche, village farmers’ market to support local makers and creators.

Locals and tourists relaxed and caught up with friends, soaking up the atmosphere and energy on the day. They were able to purchase locally handmade and hand-grown produce.

The next market will be on 17 April in the grounds of Covingtons Thai Cuisine in Pambula from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Talented local musicians Jemima Moodie and George Schweitzer will be busking on the day.