WALKING the dog took on a whole new meaning last Friday evening when the streets of Tennant Creek came alive with colourful floats, papier mache puppets and a giant inflatable cheeky dog.
As part of the Desert Harmony Festival’s weekend celebrations, the local community pulled out all the stops to take part in the annual street parade last week.
Sandwiched between fire engines, horse riders, police cars and floats, papier mache creatures galore bobbed along as parade entrants weaved their way from Purkiss Reserve to Nyinkka Nyunyu.
Leading the way, literally at times, was a giant inflatable cheeky dog, designed by local artist Dion Beasley and created by the kneeHIGH puppeteers and YDU lads.
It was a huge hit with passersby who stared in amazement at the 4m-high dog floating along Paterson Street until those carrying it finally sat, exhausted, beside the road at Nyinkka Nyunyu.
Trailing behind the cheeky dog were various-sized puppets ranging from a turtle, scorpion, crocodile and ants to a 3m-high Kadachi Man, a woman holding a child and a bright pink BRA, acronym for Barkly Regional Arts.
“It all looked incredible,” said Louise Flaherty, Arts Program Manager at Barkly Regional Arts.
“There were brightly coloured floats, giant puppets, fire engine sirens going off and adding to the carnival atmosphere was the constant beat of the High School’s djembe drummers and the synchronised skill of the Poi twirlers.”
Other highlights of the parade included the Women’s Refuge float which won first prize ($250 cash generously donated by Gerry McCarthy, Member for Barkly), the girls from YDU who brought up the rear of the parade on horses provided by Kelly’s Ranch, the Tennant Creek High School float which won second prize and Dion’s decorated scooter, which received a commendation and a prize from Outback Outfitters.
Afterwards the crowds settled in at Nyinkka Nyunyu for a night of youth performance from pupils at Tennant Creek Primary School, Tennant Creek High School and Canteen Creek School.
In the month leading-up to the Desert Harmony Festival’s 20th Anniversary celebrations, The Song Room’s Lynette Lewis and Tanya Massy were kept busy teaching dance routines that turned into a thriller of a night.
Roars of appreciation and delight came from the crowd when Canteen Creek pupils sang their Bush Tucker song and everyone raved about the High School’s performance of the late Michael Jackson’s ‘80s hit Thriller. Throughout the evening hearty sustenance was provided by Adrian McNamara with bowls of steaming hot beef and lentil stews.
Then as a perfect end to a magical evening the fire sculptures, created by kneeHIGH with the YDU lads, were set alight with the grounds of Nyinkka Nyunyu and night sky providing a spectacular backdrop.
As kneeHIGH’s artistic director Tony Hannan said before the festival, the puppeteers (Tony, Tis Milner-Nicholls, Mark Timberlake and Justin de Leeuw) like to blow people away.
“We find that when everyone gets involved there’s a real sense of achievement and community spirit which people remember for a long time afterwards,” said Tony.
Yes, the townsfolk of Tennant Creek certainly won’t forget this year’s festival. In fact, there are already talks to bring kneeHIGH back.
On the Saturday events continued with the Artists Markets and Art Exhibition launch at Nyinkka Nyunyu (on until the end of September) showcasing artistic talent from Tennant Creek and surrounding remote communities, followed by poetry readings which proved popular. Jimmy Hooker enthralled the informal gathering with his bush tales as did Rosemary Plummer, Breda Knightly, Jenny Mitchell, Adrian McNamara and Rosemary Schulz with their inspiring words.
The action didn’t stop there with reports that the MusicNT workshop with Darwin-based band The Neo and the Cabaret Night at Bivenski’s Beer Garden were a great success, followed by fun activities and music for all the family at Purkiss Reserve on the Sunday.
Some brave festival goers tried stilt walking with the aid of kneeHIGH’s Justin de Leeuw and the little ones were kept entertained by Julalikari’s Mobile Playgroup.
No one went hungry or thirsty either with a sausage sizzle provided by Rotary, soft drinks on tap by the Lions and delicious cakes and biscuits made by the amazing ladies at CWA.
Diverse musical tastes were all catered for, too, when The Tableland Drifters, Winanjjikari All Stars, Band Nomadic, The Longtails, Unbroken Expanse, John Stocks, Barry Benning (along with Johnny Green and The Blues Cowboys), and the Philip Petersen Tribute Band rocked the town alongside headline act The Neo.
“Everyone loved the shady location and relaxed atmosphere and the crowd happily settled in for an afternoon of great music ranging from country ballads to rock ‘n’ roll and funk,” said Louise.
“Overall, the Desert Harmony Festival proved to be another huge success.
“KneeHIGH certainly grabbed the community’s imagination with the puppet making and fire sculptures, and we’re looking forward to an even bigger and better event next year.”
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