Saltwater Freshwater Festival 2023 celebrates Aboriginal culture

Michele Donovan from the Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance said it was really good to be on Biripi Country for the 2023 festival.

The Saltwater Freshwater Festival at Westport Park on Saturday, June 3 marked the final day of Reconciliation Week.

The festival started with Uncle Bill O'Brien's Welcome to Country, a smoking ceremony and a series of dances.

The program included workshops, panel discussions, dancing, music and stalls in a celebration of Aboriginal culture on the Mid North Coast.

"It [the festival] is about showcasing our culture, our heritage, our dance, songs, language and it's showcasing all our communities across our footprint," Ms Donovan said.

Another feature was the Yarn Tent with speakers sharing a range of perspectives and lived experiences.

Yarn Tent host Kristal Kinsela, a Jawoyn and Wiradjuri woman, said the Yarn Tent created a safe space for people to yarn.

Three panel discussions explored the reconciliation topics of race relations, equality and equity, and unity.

Ms Kinsela said the Saltwater Freshwater Festival being staged during Reconciliation Week was a pretty important element.

"If we think about what reconciliation is, it's about improving the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people," she said.

"You have to create spaces to do that. Sometimes non-Indigenous people lack an entry point to engage and to learn and I feel this event creates that safe space for that to happen."

The 2023 Reconciliation Week's theme, Be a Voice for Generations, encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in their everyday lives.

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