ART and culture will take centre stage this NAIDOC week, as Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-operative hosts a number of creative events to recognise and celebrate the contribution of indigenous Australians.
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Events start on Sunday and run until July 9.
Goolum Goolum chief executive secretary Toni Martin said the week was a wonderful way to celebrate the history, culture and achievement of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“This year’s theme focuses on the oldest living narrative of our nation, song lines,” she said
“It highlights the importance of song lines to the existence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”
The week’s celebration starts with a meet the artist event featuring Gail Harradine on July 3, ahead of the official opening on July 4.
The week will be formally opened with a concert performance at Horsham’s Wesley Performing Arts Centre at 1pm.
“It will feature a smoking ceremony, welcome to country and we have a Bangarra dance performance,” Ms Martin said.
“After, people can go to the foyer and see clips from the recent Tchingal performance, and hopefully the puppets too.”
On Tuesday, children and elders will gather to make decorations for Saturday’s Dimboola cabaret, followed by an elders lunch in Horsham ahead of a Wednesday screening of Seven Sisters: Seeing the Land from an Aboriginal Canoe at 11am.
Ms Martin said a movie night was on at Horsham Town Hall on Thursday and youth activities would run on Friday through the Nexus Youth Centre.
The celebration will close with the Saturday cabaret at Dimboola Memorial Secondary College.
This week also marked a milestone in Goolum Goolum’s deadly bike program, with two now completed. Health and wellbeing project manager Dean O’Loughlin said the youth project had been a great success. The project sees children makeover old bikes.
“It’s been great. They’re starting to finish their own bikes and will soon be refurbishing gift bikes,” he said.
“By the end of the year, towards Christmas, we’re hoping to have heaps of bikes ready to give away.”
Mr O’Loughlin said it could take a week or more to refurbish and repaint a bike.
“They really love the work and interaction,” he said.
The bikes will be on show at an event later this year.