City of Festivals

Melbourne is a city of festivals.  Festivals of what? Whatever you can think of. I swear. Every weekend there seems to be a festival of some notoriety on, along with 4 or 5 more obscure ones. My first year here I was overwhelmed with the festival options; so much so that I don't think I actually participated in any of them.

The problem is, the festivals are actually pretty decent, so there's always heaps of events I'd like to be going to. But, for the most part they aren't free, so actually attending any of these events requires a fair bit of planning. Or they do for me as I'm a broke ass student. I think I need a calendar of Melbourne festivals, then things like the film festival won't completely pass me by because I didn't put any money aside to buy tickets.

Somehow though, this past month has been filled with fun festival activities. In September I saw 2 of the Melbourne Fringe Festival shows (both by the Women's Circus, both spectacular events!) And what comes after the Melbourne Fringe Festival? The Melbourne Festival! I was able to catch a free show called Kaosmos which involved a crane, a metal ball, and half a dozen aerial acrobatic artists. It was a pretty impressive show!

Then on Sunday I went to see the latest mad creation by Finucane & Smith: Carnival of Mysteries. I don't really know how to describe what these women do. It's completely surreal, over the top, in your face, and sexy in a disturbing way. I went and saw their trademark show The Burlesque Hour for my 26th birthday and I never recovered. Especially not from my obsession with Azaria Universe, but there is no recovering from her.

For the record, that is FOUR circus performances in the past month! Lady Cop has taken to teasing me that I'm going to run away and join the circus. My flatmate, who is a part of the Women's Circus, is encouraging me to. And I am reading Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus which just isn't helping the "no, let's not run away to the circus" cause. Maybe I will run away and join the circus. After I finish my PhD though.

But the parade of festivals doesn't stop there! Guess what's on next weekend? The Australian Festival of Travel Writing. I shit you not. If you are reading this blog and for some reason don't actually know anything about me, then you probably aren't paying much attention. I have been traveling internationally since I was 16. Not a year has passed since then that I have not left whatever country I've been living in - and only in 1 of those years have I not gone on an overseas trip. I am determined to keep this travel streak going, although admittedly this year I'm cutting it extremely close, not leaving Australia until the very end of the year. And the fact that you are reading my blog is evidence enough that I enjoy writing. I'm sure you can put the two together.

I'm only going to one session for the AFTW, but I'm just excited to be going to any! And I imagine any travel writing skills I pick up at this session will come in handy when I run away and join the circus...