After a few tumultuous months, which saw the festival’s original August date rescheduled, we’re now just weeks away from the start of BLEACH* Festival, which will officially commence at first light (5:00 am) on Thursday November 12 with an unmissable sunrise ceremony by Luther Cora and the Yugambeh dancers at the Burleigh Bora and Speaking Circle in Justin’s Park. There will be a flurry of activity at Burleigh Heads throughout the festival, with a series of day-and-night events including the one-day-only Block Party on Sunday November 15 – a celebration of First Nations artists and the local music scene – featuring live sounds by Jesswar, The Voice runner-up Siala and beat makers Wildheart. There will be polished hairdos all around when Done & Dappered featuring Joe Tongi (The Godbarber) takes over the precinct on various dates with a ‘pop-up barbershop and bop’ event in conjunction with a slick DJ crew made up of students from Arcadia College. As well as hosting a series of other performances, workshops, forums and eye-catching nightly installations by renowned Indigenous lighting designer Chloe Ogilvie, Burleigh will also be home to the Bleach* Club – a seaside pop-up bar on the sand slinging ice-cold sips and bites, with local DJs spinning tunes from midday to 9:00 pm every day throughout the festival.
The second major BLEACH* hub, Chevron Island, will give arts and music lovers a hit of adrenaline with mesmerising melodic performances by The 7 Sopranos, plus eye-popping visuals from oversized artwork by Glennys Briggs that will grace the exterior of an abandoned house, and mind-bending acts by Shannen Jones – aka ‘the girl with no bones’ –who combines contortion with archery (you’ll need to see it to believe it). Locals will also be invited to experience Chez Nous, a truly unique theatre experience staged in a soon-to-be-demolished block of houses – an unmissable event in a huge program set to be rolled out on the island.
The Gold Coast Botanic Gardens will be the perfect backdrop for BLEACH* Festival’s closing event, with the lush precinct to host an afternoon of live music by Southern Cross Soloists. The free community soiree on Sunday November 22 invites locals to roll out a BYO picnic spread on the lawn and enjoy sips from the festival’s pop-up bar while being serenaded under the garden’s canopy of trees – you’ll just need to register online here to attend.
Friends, that’s just the tip of the huge, diverse and awe-inspiring iceberg that is BLEACH* Festival 2020. Jump online to check out the full festival program and start planning your way through this spectacular, culture-soaked showcase of the Gold Coast from November 12–22.
