This years Free Community Concert at the Four Winds 2019 Easter Festival is taking inspiration from ‘Lady Jane’ – a disused Bermagui fishing boat currently resting at the Bermagui Industrial Estate. The ‘Lady Jane’ team is now inviting the community to take part.
The Four Winds Easter Festival has teamed up with the Bermagui Historical Society and together they will be collecting local stories, artifacts and photos of Bermagui’s heritage as a busy centre for fishing, from the 1940’s to the present day. The Historical Society are also researching 'Lady Jane' to find out as much as they can about the life of this beautiful Bermagui fishing boat. All the stories, anecdotes and artifacts contributed/collected will feed into a narrative and live performance, which will form the opening of the Four Winds 2019 Easter Festival. This is an open invitation to the whole community to contribute to the project, which has been supported with funds from Regional Arts NSW. If you have any interesting local stories about Bermagui’s fishing ‘heritage’ – right up to the present day, please contribute! Your story might be the one that inspires the final performance outcome. Do you know people who worked on boats like 'Lady Jane'? What was their experience of fishing out of Bermagui? What are the stories they passed on? What were their characters like? What is different, then to now? Stories can be contributed in any format from now until the end of February; simply write them down and drop them off at the Four Winds Office and/or Historical Society Bermagui Museum at the Bermagui Community Centre; make a voice recording on your mobile device and email it to admin@fourwinds.com.au; or we can arrange to visit you with a voice recorder, just call 02 6493 3414 or email admin@fourwinds.com.au to fix a time – there’s a real possibility that your voice recording could feature in the performance! Share your stories and images on social media including the hashtags #LadyJane and #FourWindsAU and the team will pick up your posts.
Please come and meet the 'Lady Jane' project team at the Bermagui Community Centre on Saturday 23 February 2019 (10am – 4pm) to hear what has already been discovered about 'Lady Jane' – facts, images, stories and anecdotes already collected.
If you have any relevant artifacts or photos you’d like to share in person, the best time to contribute these to the project will be on this same day at the Bermagui Community Centre as this will be a creative day dedicated to gathering stories. You are not expected to donate items, they can be photographed and/or copied with your permission. This will also be your chance to contribute creatively. On the same day, you can meet the Director of the show, Sam Thomas, and local artists who will be working in the Community Centre to create bunting, as well as props to be used in the performance. You can come and join in - paint your own piece of bunting or help make props, which will be used to decorate the set for the show. Bring the family – everyone can have a go. If you like to perform, local choreographer Lee Pemberton will be forming an adult dance ‘company’ to take part in the performance. On Sunday 24 February (11am – 1pm) Lee will be at the Bermagui Community Centre with Director Sam Thomas. If you are interested in joining the Lady Jane Dance Company and can commit to two weekends and one week of rehearsals prior to the show, please come along – you can let them know you are interested in attending by emailing admin@fourwinds.com.au. All adults are welcome – regardless of experience! This is a great opportunity for Bermagui to celebrate its fishing heritage as well as its current status as a destination for fishing activities. The project will be a huge success if local people come forward with their stories, photos and creativity, so please take part. The Bermagui Historical Society would also love to hear from you in connection to this project: http://bermaguihistoricalsociety.org.au/contact/
Lady Jane Community Inspiration Day Tell your stories, learn about 'Lady Jane', be creative! Saturday 23 February 2019, 10.00am - 4.00pm Bermagui Community Centre Hall Lady Jane Dance Company initial meeting and workshop, all welcome. With Lee Pemberton and Sam Thomas. Sunday 24 February 2019, 11.00am - 1.00pm Bermagui Community Centre Hall
