Latest news with #KimberleyMoonExperience
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Ord Valley Muster ends on a high note with Lime Cordiale
After 10 days of art, food, laughter and first-class Aussie music, it's time to shake out the picnic blankets and fold up the camping chairs as the sun sets on another successful Boab Metals Ord Valley Muster. The seminal cultural festival for the East Kimberley dry season wrapped up with an electric Kimberley Moon Experience concert on Saturday night headlined by Spotify chart-toppers Lime Cordiale, Thelma Plum and Aussie music legend Mark Seymour and his band The Undertow. It seemed the biggest fans of the Muster were those on stage, with Oli Limebach from Lime Cordiale saying his trip to the East Kimberley had been epic. 'We've had a chopper flight to a secluded waterfall and swum in water so clear you can see fish, we've been hiking and trekking, and we've only been here two days, but it feels so much longer. I want to come back and stay for six months,' he said. Meanwhile, Mark Seymour said his Aviair scenic flight to Purnululu National Park was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 'The Bungle Bungles are some of the strangest land formations I've ever seen,' he said. 'They look like stone mountains millions of years old, and horizontally striped with different coloured rock, like beehives, rising out of the desert, something like science fiction, incredible, miraculous landforms you won't see anywhere else. If you only do one thing, visit the Bungle Bungles.' Thousands of people attended events throughout Kununurra and its surrounds for the Ord Valley Muster which attracts 1,500 tourists and raises $6 million for the local economy each year. Festival favourites such as Art In The Park, the rodeo, Corroborree Under The Stars and the free event, Party In The Park were all well attended. There were also new events by local tourism operators including the Lake Argyle Cliffside Dinner, Bottomless Brunch at Emma Gorge, Cultural Tour at El Questro, Explore with Lamparangana Fishing Adventures, and Art, Culture and Cuisine by Blak Tapas. Organised by not-for-profit Ord Valley Events Inc, the muster is in its 24th year. Ord Valley Events Inc chair Sophie Cooke said the festival has been built on big decisions. 'Recent years gave us a glimpse of what life without events looks like, the emptiness, a gap in the cultural rhythm of our community because moments of connection, celebration and shared experience are what stitches us together, giving us pride of place and a feeling of honour to be able to share with those that visit,' she said. COVID caused the festival to be cancelled in 2021 and 2022. The 2023 Fitzroy River flood also created challenges when a major bridge was destroyed, cutting off the East Kimberley from the rest of the State. Last year ticket sales from the Kimberley Moon Experience were down 60 per cent, putting the future of the festival in jeopardy. But with funding support from Tourism WA, the muster appears to have bounced back. Dates for next year's festival are set to be announced soon.
West Australian
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Ord Valley Muster 2025 draws huge crowds as tickets to the Kimberley Moon Experience sell fast
Organisers are expecting a strong take-up in ticket sales for Saturday's Kimberley Moon Experience as visitors and Kununurra residents flock to Ord Valley Muster festival events all this week. The 10-day festival got off to an exuberant start on Friday with the free Horizon Power Party in the Park attracting a capacity crowd of 2000. Ord Valley Events Inc. vice-chair, Justine de Candia said the community-focused opening was a huge success. 'It's a beautiful night to be out to celebrate together as a community,' Mrs de Candia said on the night. 'Everyone is here to see and support the local talent we have and it's a celebration of everything that the East Kimberley represents, the people, the culture and the landscape. 'It's a huge crowd, it's incredible to think that 2000 people have walked through the gates when our population is only about 5000.'' The event began with the Solby Silver Search, which featured buried treasures in three sandpits for toddlers, kids and big kids, including bespoke diamond and silver jewellery by Kimberley Fine Diamonds. The audience then enjoyed performances by the East Kimberley College Band and Wild Brumby Line Dancers. That was followed with a choral performance by students from East Kimberley College and Dawul Remote Community School, and Battle of the Bands winner Cruise Control. The night ended with eight-piece Australian Defence Force rock outfit Band of the 1st Brigade. Ord Valley Events Inc, chair Sophie Cooke said there was a real buzz in town this week 'The energy and enthusiasm for the Ord Valley Muster is evident, and it's contagious,' she said. 'Party in the Park was huge, a wonderful community celebration. Sunday Sounds was a beautiful evening, a showcase of the incredible talent we have across the Kimberley, and it was a great recovery event after the sold-out rodeo on Saturday night. 'Ticket sales for the Kimberley Moon Experience are tracking as we expected and there's been a strong up-take in the last couple of weeks as people arrive in town.' The muster's premier concert will be headlined by indie musicians Lime Cordiale, award-winning Thelma Plum and Aussie singer/songwriter and former Hunters and Collectors frontman Mark Seymour & The Undertow. Festival highlights this week include Comedy in the Park on Tuesday, featuring Georgie Carroll, Ben Knight, Amy Hetherington and Mick Meredith, and Art in the Park on Wednesday evening which will feature a fashion show by Aboriginal artist Jaru Girl and the Wyndham Art Collective, plus music by Stellar Moon. The Ord Valley Muster is supported through Tourism WA's Regional Events Program. Last year it attracted close to 1500 people to the East Kimberley contributing millions of dollars to the local economy. There are still tickets available for most events including Kimberley Moon Experience on Saturday. Tickets are available from .
