pavement performances

Fiesta La Peel 2023: A Celebration of Culture, Music, and Community

In 2023, Arts North West, Music Region New England, and Arts Mid North Coast came together to support the 10th Anniversary of Tamworth's Multicultural Festival, Fiesta La Peel. This vibrant event spanned two incredible days of music, food, dance, and activities designed to delight audiences of all ages and showcase the rich cultural diversity of the region.

As part of the celebrations, Arts North West delivered a captivating series of Pavement Performances, bringing life and energy to the streets of Tamworth and Manilla. These performances transformed public spaces such as Fitzroy Street Plaza in Tamworth, the Fitzroy Milk Bar, and the Canberra Greek Café in Manilla into bustling hubs of live music. Audiences were treated to an eclectic mix of Flamenco Guitar, Bossa Nova, Brazilian Choro, Middle-Eastern melodies, and Celtic, Greek, and Balkan sounds. The performers, a group of internationally trained musicians, hailed from across the New England North West (Tamworth and Armidale), the Mid North Coast (Bellingen and Coffs Harbour), and the Hunter Region (Newcastle), delivering a truly global musical experience.

The Tamworth Regional Library hosted a special performance, Jigsaw Cinema, combining literacy and music. This engaging event brought Alison Lester’s book Isabella's Bed to life for 300 preschool and primary school students, inspiring young minds through the magical interplay of storytelling and music.

Saturday evening saw the community come together for a vibrant celebration of cultural diversity at the Fiesta Main Stage. Supported by Arts North West, Arts Mid North Coast, Tamworth Regional Council, and Multicultural Tamworth Inc., the stage came alive with global music and performances. Artists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Iraq, Peru, Scotland, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey, and Ukraine shared their incredible talents, offering a dazzling display of the global cultures represented in the region.

Throughout the evening, Arts North West delighted younger festivalgoers with Kids Activities, inviting children to unleash their creativity by crafting and decorating musical instruments. Activities included making cardboard guitars, music shakers from recycled materials, and colorful Carnivale masks, ensuring fun for the whole family.

The 2023 Fiesta La Peel showcased the region’s rich tapestry of music, art, culture, and history, offering something for everyone and celebrating the diversity that makes our community so vibrant. It was a truly memorable milestone in the festival’s decade-long history, leaving audiences inspired, entertained, and connected through the universal language of art and culture.

FEATURED ARTISTS

Maryanne Piper, Damian Wright, Oscar Eagar, Emiliamo Beltzer, Metin Yilmaz, Inland Ensemble, Jack Cavanagh, Ferhan & Hozam Xelef, Denis sos Santos & Angela Saavedra.

EVENT LINE UP

Pavement performances In tamworth - 11.30 AM Friday, 20 October 2023

Location: Fitzroy Street Plaza & outside the Fitzroy Milk Bar, Fitzroy Street, Tamworth

As part of our CBD activation, we paid tribute to 60-plus years of service contributed by the Georgiadis family and their Fitzroy Milk Bar to the Tamworth community.

In Post World War II Australia we still remember, "in each suburb & every country town, there was the Greek café or milk bar—open all hours, 7 days a week. Remember the Niagara, the Parthenon, the California, the Astoria & Paragon? They gave us more than milkshakes, lollies, ice cream & home style meals." They were among regional Australia's first wave of global multiculturalism, bringing atmosphere & creating community in local towns. (Greek Cafés & Milk Bars of Australia by Effy Alexakis & Leonard Janiszewski, Halstead Press, Sydney, 2022)

Passing crowds were treated to some folk, jazz and world music as well as some improvisation from our region's artists.

pavement performances In manilla - 4.30 PM Friday, 20 October 2023

Location: Canberra Greek Cafe, 132 Manilla Street, Manilla.

After a successful performance in Tamworth, the music moved to Manilla! Local audiences experienced performances from the Manilla Community Choir as well as jazz fusion/world music from the cross-regional network of artists. The community gathered outside Manilla’s old Canberra Greek Café. The performance paid tribute to Paul Calokerinos whose Greek Café was once the centrepiece of the Manilla community. His family generously supplied some photos and memorbillia for a display remembering the Calokerinos family’s contribution to the manilla area.

pavement performances as part of fiesta la peel - 12 PM - 8 PM saturday, 21 October, 2023

Arts North West, Music Region New England North West and Arts Mid North Coast supported the programming of Tamworth's 10th year of the Multicultural Festival 'Fiesta La Peel'.

12 PM - 2.30 PM: ARTS NORTH WEST'S PAVEMENT PERFORMANCES TAMWORTH
Music in Fitzroy Street Plaza - jazz fusion and world music from some of Australia’s & our region’s finest.

3 PM - 8 PM: ANW KID’S ACTIVITIES IN THE PARK
Create a Carnival mask or instrument made from recycled materials.

REGIONAL MULTICULTURAL MUSIC ON THE MAIN STAGE
Audiences enjoyed multicultural music and dance performances from around the world. Inland Ensemble, regional NSW’s first intercultural music ensemble, debuted on the Main Stage and is set to tour Europe in 2024. Our artists also supported community-led initiatives celebrating culture and diversity in the region, including the Gunnedah Indonesian Angklung Ensemble, Manilla Community Choir, and the Pacific Islander community's beautiful harmonies.

Photo Gallery