	{"id":109531,"date":"2025-01-24T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=109531"},"modified":"2025-01-22T17:33:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T06:33:13","slug":"boost-to-cresfests-big-african-extravaganza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/boost-to-cresfests-big-african-extravaganza\/","title":{"rendered":"Boost to CresFest&#8217;s big African extravaganza"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CRESWICK&#8217;S folk and roots music and dance festival, CresFest, has received funding from the Federal Government&#8217;s Festivals Australia grants initiative.<\/p>\n<p>The fest will deliver The Rhythms of Africa \u2013 An Extravaganza as part of its 2025 program, and has been allocated $17,600 to help make the drumming and dancing takeover of the town happen.<\/p>\n<p>To be performed on the Saturday of the three-day event on 4 to 6 April, The Rhythms of Africa is being led by CresFest co-director and musician Stella Savy and master drummer Kofi Kunkpe.<\/p>\n<p>Creswick school children will learn to drum in term one of the year before 100 of them play with groups including Creswick Drum Circle at the festival.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This performance has been many years coming and I&#8217;m so excited that this funding will make it a reality, so the children of Creswick can have a tailored musical experience,&#8221; said Savy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t wait to start working with the kids on their singing and drumming. Creswick will be alive with the sound of Africa on 5 April.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Festivals Australia aims to boost diverse, engaging and innovative artistic experiences in regional and remote communities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;CresFest brings the community together, and this year that will also include local primary school students,&#8221; said Member for Ballarat Catherine King.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;CresFest&#8217;s amazing blend of local, national and international acts has led it to achieve a stellar reputation in its short history and this year&#8217;s program shouldn&#8217;t be missed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s something magical about the way the music and performances completely take over the streets of Creswick during the festival creating a truly immersive experience for audiences and locals.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CRESWICK&#8217;S folk and roots music and dance festival, CresFest, has received funding from the Federal Government&#8217;s Festivals Australia grants initiative. The fest will deliver The Rhythms of Africa \u2013 An Extravaganza as part of its 2025 program, and has been allocated $17,600 to help make the drumming and dancing takeover of the town happen. To [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/boost-to-cresfests-big-african-extravaganza\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":109533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-109531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Boost to CresFest&#039;s big African extravaganza - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CresFest receives Federal Government funding for &quot;The Rhythms of Africa,&quot; a vibrant celebration featuring 100 school children and renowned musicians.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/boost-to-cresfests-big-african-extravaganza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boost to CresFest&#039;s big African extravaganza - Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CresFest receives Federal Government funding for &quot;The Rhythms of Africa,&quot; 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