Kinship Festival coming up Saturday 27 May in Murwillumbah

The Kinship Festival – a major North Coast festival led by First Nations people – will be held on the first day of Reconciliation Week. It’s a celebration of Aboriginal art, dance, community and culture for the whole community to enjoy.

Watch the Kinship Festival Facebook clip 

Festival experiences

• Festivities kick off at 10am with a smoking ceremony, followed by a community corroboree with lots of dancing, sand art, language workshops and traditional games, along with the always popular Aboriginal Artisan Market.
• The corroberee starts with the Bireen, Goodjingburra and Kids Caring For Country dance groups, followed by the Nini Nahri-Gali, Bundjalung Yowarld, Wadjar-Ngarlu and Merrigingi dances groups along with the Karem Bau Torres Strait Islander dancers, based on the Gold Coast and the Pasifika Breez South Sea Islands dancers from the Tweed.
• Another popular event is the Elders Sharing Wisdom Workshop, where elders share their values, stories, and wisdom with children, and this year there will also be language workshops for adults.
• The day will end at the sand mandala site with a community dance led by the Merrigingi Dancers in hour of Uncle Magpie.
• All activities are free, including a BBQ lunch and transport can be arranged for elders and young people.

Kinship Festival brings healing and connection

“We’re excited to be involved in 2023, particularly with the event postponed twice in 2022 due to flood impacts and the organising committee still dealing with the fall out and support demands from the floods.

“For us, it is a priority to come alongside and support Aboriginal community members leading their own event. The benefits of the Kinship Festival to the local community and broader region are immense.

“You really have to experience it. It is one of the region’s largest and most important cultural events and it contributes significantly to community healing, building connection and celebrating Aboriginal culture.”

Damien Becker, another Social Futures team leader, is a huge supporter too, leading our involvement last year.

“Kinship remains the most impressive community-led event I’ve ever seen in over 25 years working in community development in Victoria, NSW and Queensland – and it keeps getting better.

“For Social Futures, our involvement has led to better service delivery outcomes for local First Nations people through the trusting relationships we’ve developed.”

• headspace Tweed is sponsoring the Youth Showcasing Zone and offering graffiti workshops, alongside OneVision’s hip-hop workshops.
• Mijung Jarjums Kids in Mind, Family Connect and Support and Social Strategy are supporting the Northern Rivers Community Healing Hub with clay activities for the kids (sponsored by FCS)LAC Northern, Recovery Connect, FCS and Connecting Home are offering bracelet weaving and badgemaking in the Social Futures Family Fun Marquee.
• Our Aboriginal Leadership and Engagement Team will be supporting throughout the day.

The Kinship Festival is proudly led and directed by First Nations people and supported by the NSW Government and Tweed Shire Council.