The Festival of Busselton is seeking a community minded individual or group to design and build a spirit figure for its 2019 closing night celebrations.
The spirit figure is a long-standing festival tradition, with the first spirit built by Vince Triglia and is displayed throughout January before being set alight in a stunning tribute to the local community. “
Festival of Busselton president Bernie Masters said the burning of the spirit symbolises the proud sense of community we have in Busselton.
Mr Masters said the spirit paid homage to those who built this city and continued to make it one of the best places to live and holiday in WA. s
The burning of the spirit is a much-loved part of the festival’s closing night celebrations and also marks the start of its spectacular fireworks display on Busselton’s foreshore.
With closing night activities previously attracting upwards of 10,000 people, and the newly expanded Foreshore now more vibrant than ever, the festival is expecting larger crowds in 2019 to line the beach.
As a not-for-profit group, the Busselton Dunsborough Mail has generously provided the festival with a $500 cash grant, to be made available to a local South West artist or creative group willing to build the 2019 festival spirit.
“Geographe Timber and Hardware have also very kindly offered to donate all timber that may be required to build the spirit, although other materials can be used at the artist's discretion,” Mr Masters said.
Strict guidelines for the construction of the festival spirit should be noted – the finished spirit must be small enough to be placed on a trailer for inclusion in the festival’s annual float parade and it must be made from combustible materials such as timber, papier mâché, clothing, or brush matting for example.
The spirit will feature heavily in the promotion of the 2020 festival, with recognition of the artist or creative group responsible for building the 2019 Spirit set to continue for over a year and adding a unique design element to their professional portfolio.
If you are interested in putting your creative skills to work and crafting a genuine community spirited piece of art, please contact festival president, Bernie Masters on 0408 944 242 or by email to berniemasters@iinet.net.au.
Event information can be found at festivalofbusselton.com.au.
