Lisa Dennis
The 2023 Castlemaine State Festival is just around the corner and the Express caught up with festival director, Glyn Roberts, to discuss what audiences can expect at the 24th instalment of Australia’s longest running regional arts festival.
The Midland Express and Castlemaine Mail are proud to be media partners of the festival once again in 2023 and our readers will find the full festival program in the Express on January 24, 2023.
Glyn said the program for the highly anticipated event had now been finalised and festival goers could once again expect a diverse offering with something for the whole family – from classical music to uplifting pop, live performances and conversations, through to visual arts.
The festival opening will be held under a massive big top on the Western Reserve on the evening of Friday March 24.
The big top will be the beating heart of the festival, hosting live music every night of the 17-day event.
“Our free opening night celebration will feature live music by 1990s pop band, Frente!, who will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their iconic debut EP – Marvin the Album. The opening is proudly supported by the federal government,” Glyn said.
Community members will need to register for the free event.
“The festival will once again coincide with part of the school holidays and Easter, which worked extremely well in 2021, with many visitors already seeing Castlemaine as a real destination and looking for experiences while they are here,” Glyn said.
“We will also feature a classical and delicate music program at the Castlemaine Town Hall – something that has always been a strong focus of our festival.
“The festival is also excited to once again partner with Northern Books to present Dialogues at The Goods Shed. In the other half of The Goods Shed we will also have performances and visual arts.
“The Open Studios will again be a huge highlight with Michael Wolfe coordinating this and local studios registered already back to pre-COVID numbers. We will also be featuring a curated exhibition featuring a selection of works by Open Studio artists at the Market Building throughout the festival.
“There will be itinerant art throughout the township and a live art walking tour, which will commence at a ‘mustering point’ at the Botanical Gardens before exploring the town.”
To coincide with the festival, there will also be two new exhibitions unveiled at Castlemaine Art Museum, one featuring a local artist and one a Melbourne-based artist with an immersive performance element.
CSF is also working with Mount Alexander Shire Council and Castlemaine Fringe to reactivate Mechanics Lane and Frederick Street to coincide with Fringe performances at the Phee Broadway Theatre.
The Fringe will be taking over the big top on a couple of nights following festival programming to host after parties featuring local DJs.
In addition to the local program, the festival will feature three performances at Bendigo’s Capital Theatre.
“There are also a number of events happening in Bendigo, which will coincide with the festival, including performances by the Melbourne Opera, so festival goers will have plenty of reasons to explore the local and wider region over the 17-day event,” Glyn said.
The 2023 Castlemaine State Festival program will be officially launched with a public event at The Goods Shed on Saturday January 28. The website and ticket sales will go live on the same date.
In the lead up to the festival, tickets will be available online or from the box office at The Goods Shed. A dedicated Box Office will also pop up at The Western Oval closer to the event, which will run from March 24 to April 9, 2023.
