The dust (straw..?) has settled and the 2019 Festival is over until 2020, when we will do it all again, and better because you ( yes YOU!) can give us your input and help us shape the program.
Please complete our very quick survey – thank you so much!
Join us for the FINAL weekend of Festival Activities
The York Festival closes this weekend leaving York with 6 stunning Wara Art straw sculptures depicting endangered Australian species. Already thousands of admirers have fallen in love with these gorgeous creatures over the last two weekends.
The Numbat, Western Ground Parrot, Western Swamp Tortoise, Murray Cod, Rakali and Bilby now form the Wara Art Trail, and you can view these incredible sculptures at Peace Park, the old convent school carpark, Railway St, cnr of Monger & South St, Faversham House and York Olive Oil. (Faversham House & York Olive Oil are fully accessible during normal hours of operation.)
The closing weekend of the festival includes something for everyone!
- From Hooves to Highways Exhibition – exploring when cars first appeared on our roads and begun vying for space with horses, trams, pedestrians and cyclists.
- 3D Chalk Pavement Painting – Anton Pulvirenti from Zest International has been creating magic
- Open Garden Art Trail – 10 private gardens open for public viewing
- Maker’s Markets – gorgeous handmade products, support small businesses!
- The Art & Craft Awards 2019 – The Awards hold an important place in the Western Australian Art & Craft scene and now attract around 300 entries each year
- Spirit Chasers exhibition at Gallery 152– Located in a beautifully restored heritage building, Gallery 152 presents exhibitions featuring the work of Australian contemporary artists.
- The York Escape Maze – Upbeat Events and students from York District High School have been collaborating on this mash up of Maze/Escape Room/Ninja Warrior.
- Archery in the Park – Your chance to practice the ancient art of using a bow to shoot arrows!
- Footy Fun with Perth Football Club – at Avon Park this Saturday where you can learn a new skill or improve on an existing one
- Business Tips from the Richest Man in the Colony – a walking tour with a business perspective to analyse why Monger was so successful after his arrival in York in 1829
- Walking Tour of Horrors – This walking tour details murders, accidents, suicides, and all manner of ghastly deaths in York from the 1830s to modern times, mostly in the places where they occurred.
- Free Community Concert– bring a picnic or enjoy the food vans, kick back and chill out.
The
festival culminates with the Free Community Concert in Peace Park
featuring WA artists Kat Wilson, The Terror Adaptors, The Skelton
Collective, Natasha Eldridge and MC Chris Gibbs.
See you soon!
FIND THE FEATURE – Answers!
Find the Feature is I Spy with a difference! 60 Beautiful architectural features are detailed in our flyer, that you can obtain at the York Visitor Centre. All you have to do is spot 60 unique architectural features on the buildings in York – look up, look down, look everywhere ( but all are within walking distance of the Town Hall).
- Castle Hotel
- Imperial Hotel
- Avon Real Estate
- Sargent’s Pharmacy
- St Patrick’s
- Courthouse
- York Palace Hotel
- Post Office
- Courthouse
- Castle Hotel
- Town Hall
- Convent School
- Castle Hotel
- Avon Real Estate
- St Patrick’s
- Old School
- Old school
- St Patrick’s
- Town Hall
- Botanicalia / Gallery 152
- Motor Museum
- Catholic Presbytery
- St Patrick’s
- Motor Museum
- Barclay Books
- Masonic Hall
- Town Hall
- Motor Museum
- St Patrick’s
- Town Hall
- Town Hall
- Jules / Wayward Nomad
- Post Office
- Sargent’s Pharmacy
- Westpac Bank
- Town Hall
- Motor Museum
- Davies Buildings
- Town Hall
- Masonic Hall
- Barclay Books
- St Patrick’s
- Botanicalia / Gallery 152
- Motor Museum
- Davies Buildings
- Masonic Hall
- Barclay Books
- Courthouse
- St Patrick’s
- Masonic Hall
- Rear Convent
- Courthouse
- Patchwork on Avon
- Central Buildings/ York Pharmacy
- Café 159 / Country Fried Chicken / Mad Mo’s
- Town Hall
- Post Office
- St Patrick’s
- Barclay Books
- Barclay Books
Last call for Stall Holders!
| Stall holders are invited to apply for a stall at the Makers Market – York Sunday 29 September 2019 Sunday 5 October 2019 Sunday 13 October 2019 The York Festival presented by Live Lighter is an established annual festival that attracted thousands of visitors to York last year. The festival runs across two full weeks, spanning three weekends. The opening weekend of the festival is marked by the Medieval Fayre which has a huge following, the closing weekend of the festival features the Art & Craft Awards, another well established event that has been running for over 50 years. This year the festival highlights include the creation of 4 giant straw sculptures. This cultural artist exchange began in 2018 and has created huge interest and publicity state wide. There will be a Maker’s Market every Sunday of the festival. If you create lovely products that bring joy and happiness to your customers, then we would love to include you! |
| Find out more and apply… |
We are a little bit excited seeing it in print now….!
Here it is in all its glory, the ‘at a glance’ guide to what’s on during The York Festival 2019 presented by Live Lighter.
Download the 2019 Festival Program
Visit the What’s on page for more detail on each event across the three weekends from Saturday 28 September to Sunday 13 October.
We are looking forward to seeing you there 🙂
Come and be a puppet master!!
We are so excited to bring String Symphony to York on the 28th and 29th of September. To make this event a success we are seeking members of the community to volunteer to receive some training from Spare Parts Puppet Theatre on 27th September and to be available to work alongside the professional puppeteers over the two days.
This means learning the backstory and reviewing the script so they understand what’s needed. Adults are preferred and will need to have current Working With Children certification.
Please email hello@yorkfestival.com.au with Spare Parts Puppet Theatre volunteer in the subject heading.
Help create spectacular Straw Sculptures – volunteer registration open!
From 19 August and throughout September, York will be buzzing with the sound of hundreds of volunteers working together to create a trail of giant straw sculptures in the Japanese tradition of ‘Wara Art’ for the 2019 York Festival.
The York Festival, presented by Live Lighter, opens on 28th September and this year will be creating a trail of four new Wara Art sculptures of endangered Australian animals.
Festival organisers are inviting volunteers from across Australia to join the team of three Japanese artists and three Australian artists for this unique community art project.
Wara (rice straw) Art was developed as a way of finding a creative use of the excess straw leftover at the end of the rice harvest. Once used to make things like tatami mats, rice straw has been replaced by modern synthetic materials, leaving farmers with an abundance of straw. The resulting sculptures spawned a new art practice and Wara Art Festivals are now held each year throughout Japan.
Ilsa Bennion, Wara Art Volunteer Coordinator says “The great news is that anyone can be a volunteer on this project, you don’t need any special talent. You will have a lot of fun and we guarantee you will walk away with new skills and lots of new friends”.
York is an easy one hour drive east of the Perth CBD, off the Great Southern Highway. Nestled on the banks of the Avon River in the West Australian Wheatbelt, the district offers unique insights into Western Australia’s rich and colourful past, both before and following European settlement in 1831.
As WA’s oldest inland town, The York Festival is a celebration of its location in the West Australian Wheatbelt, reflected in its program which includes the Running of the Lambs, A Day In Japan, the York Garden Art Trail, the Escape Maze, the annual York Society Art & Craft Award, From Hooves to Highways exhibition, Alli Butler’s premiere of 40 Year Old Popstar, walking tours such as Business Tips from the Richest Man in the Colony, the Medieval Fayre, Maker’s Market stalls every Sunday, lots of live music and other events.
For volunteer registrations and to find out more contact: hello@yorkfestival.com.au
Follow The York Festival on social media for the latest release program information:
Facebook @yorkfestival
Instagram @theyorkfestival
Put the York Festival on your travel route
In September, York will be buzzing with the sound of hundreds of volunteers working together to create a trail of giant straw sculptures in the Japanese tradition of ‘Wara Art’ for the 2019 York Festival. The York Festival, presented by Live Lighter, opens on 28th September and this year will be creating a trail of four new Wara Art sculptures of endangered Australian fauna.
As happened last year, hundreds of volunteers from across Australia are expected to join our team of three Japanese artists and three Australian artists for this unique community art project. York welcomes those travelling with their mobile homes, offering free overnight accommodation in the centre of town, and boasts a caravan park at the base of Mt Bakewell. Volunteers interested in staying at least two nights are offered free camping in town behind the Botanicalia café on Avon Terrace.
As WA’s oldest inland town, The York Festival is a celebration of its location in the West Australian Wheatbelt, reflected in its program which includes the Running of the Lambs, A Day In Japan, a garden art trail, the annual Art & Craft Award, From Hooves to Highways exhibition, Alli Butler’s premiere of 40 Year old Popstar, walking tours such as Business Tips from the Richest Man in the Colony, lots of live music, the Medieval Fayre and other events. The Festival runs from 28th September to 13th October. Most events are free but keep an eye on our website for details. For volunteer registrations contact: hello@yorkfestival.com.au.