White Night program revealed

ON Saturday, 3 September, Bendigo will be lit up for a night of visual art, music and family fun.

White Night is back after two years of cancellations, and creative director Joseph O’Farrell said this year’s program is bigger and bolder than before.

“People can expect all the hallmarks of White Night, massive building projections, a heap of selfie moments and to interact with large creatures of the night,” he said.

“Seeing Bendigo really transform in this magical, one-off night with the projections but also the lighting, live music, interactive elements, it’s going to be fun for the whole family.

“Bendigo lends itself in its beautiful architecture to the building projections taking over the city. What we want to do is to make sure the event is full of local and regional artists and musicians and commission new work from artists who operate in and around Bendigo.”

This year’s theme is ‘everything on the land is reflected in the sky’ and is designed to celebrate the different cultures that make up Bendigo.

“That reflects on First Nations knowledge around astrology and astronomy, we’ve also asked our artists to really think about the notion of the night sky, the environment, and the country on which we’re hosting this event.”

From 7pm to 1am, Charing Cross will be illuminated with projections onto heritage buildings, View Street will host live music, and performances from brass bands, while drag queens and cultural dancers will take place on Pall Mall.

In Rosalind Park, children will have the chance to meet The Guardian, a 10-metre-long and four-metre-tall lion puppet.

“It’s a melting pot of different experiences and it will really take over the sense of our audiences as they look from one thing to another and walk through our precinct,” Mr O’Farrell said.

“It’s a constant conversation with the city… with traditional owners, artist, the community and potential audience.

“We want to give them a night they won’t forget but we also want to foster that civic pride that comes with a major event coming to a beautiful destination.”