Published in the Blue Mountains Gazette 7 September 2022:
It has been a tough few years for everyone. Fires, floods and lockdowns.
The Festival of Resilience team are drawing on a strong and vibrant community to hold a five-week festival of headline and crowdsourced events celebrating the resilience and spirit of the people of the Blue Mountains.
Event organiser Richard Keegan said: “Regenerate will be held on Sunday, September 11 in the grass forecourt area between the beautiful Carrington Hotel and Katoomba Street. We wanted to give everyone the opportunity to take a breath, be entertained and inspired, and for a few hours forget about the dramas we’ve all been living through for the past two years.”
Starting from 11am performers include Aria-winner Mic Conway, better-known from the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band as well as Amelie Ecology whose songs will excite and inform on all things ecology and ‘Bee-related’.
Emily Cooper from Hands Heart & Feet will be running a drumming workshop at 1pm while the Climate Action Superheroes will be mingling with the crowd to entertain and encourage everyday actions to protect our precious planet.
From 2pm Carrington Ballroom will host an engaging panel discussion with Claire O’Rourke as she launches her book, Together We Can, about communities taking positive action on climate change and planetary health. She will be joined by Blue Mountains local Allen Hyde who started the Mount Irvine Rainforest Conservancy following the 2020 bushfires, and Lis Bastian of the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative.
“Following on from Regenerate is Renew with the Max22 Mountains Expo on September 17 and 18, organised by the Blue Mountains Creative arts Network,” said Mr Keegan. “Reimagine is our community forum of inspiring talks and workshops in the Lawson Community Centre on September 24 and 25. Reconnect is a concept to encourage residents to stay local and connect with neighbours over the October long weekend. And we will be finishing off the celebrations with Rejoice – a mass choir singalong at The Leura Village Fair on the October 9.”
For more information, or to add your own event, go to the Festival of Resilience website www.festivalofresilience.org.
Photo of Amelie Ecology by Zebedee Parkes.
