Come Out is Australia's biggest arts festival for young people. Celebrating 35 years, Come Out is a multi-artform Festival and the '09 program, includes a selection of theatre, circus, dance, comedy, puppetry, visual arts, participatory projects and cultural events. Come to the “Tandanya Hub” and experience some of the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Art and Craft Sessions

18 – 22 May and 25 – 29 May @ 10am, 11am and 1pm
$5, book at Come Out Box Office 8267 6920
The art and craft sessions include guided workshops in painting, jewellery making, decorating animal masks and weaving. Suitable for 5years and older.

Cultural Presentations

18 – 22 May and 25 – 29 May @ 12noon
$5, book at Come Out Box Office 8267 6920
Educational sessions exploring some of the historical, cultural, geographical and social aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and included an extended descriptive presentation and performance of the yidaki (didgeridoo).

Torres Strait Islander Dance

18 – 22 May and 25 – 29 May @ 11am and 1pm
$5, book at Come Out Box Office 8267 6920
Torres Strait Islander dance workshops present cultural information, traditional stories, songs and dances. You will be invited to participate and learn some of the dance movements.

Kanyini

25 – 26 May @ 10am & 12pm
FREE, book at Come Out Box Office 8267 6920
Kanyini offers an accessible account of what has happened to Australia’s First People since the arrival of the white man. Based on his own personal journey, Bob Randall, who lives beside Uluru in Central Australia, tells a story that is not only of one man and his people, but the story of the human race. Told without bitterness, Bob Randall weaves his story with depth, understanding and precision. It is a film for every Australian.

The performances below also have School only sessions available, please refer to the official Come Out program or website www.comeout.on.net for details.

Children’s Cheering Carpet – Saltbush

18 May @ 6pm. 23 May @ 1pm & 4pm
$30 adults, $25 concession, Family of 4 $100, book through Bass 131 246
Created specifically for children aged 4 – 8 years, Saltbush is a new work by Italian company Campagnia TPO in collaboration with Australian Aboriginal Artists. It is performed on a touch-sensitive carpet that triggers images and sound. Audience participation is encouraged.

Teuila Postcards

29 – 30 May 2009, 8pm
$20 adults, $15 concession, book at Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre 08 8212 4276
Polytoxic Dance Company unveils the cultural reality of Polynesia with an episodic ride of postcard-like vignettes through the past and present. With historical missionary diary entries, a hilarious Elvis inspired advertisement, a comedic floorshow performance and an insight into a Samoan girl’s experience of everyday life – this is Polytoxic’s holiday postcard to you from Samoa.

Wakaid Girl Lyndhurst Kid

29 May @ 7pm. 30 May @ 4pm
$15 adults, $10 concession, tickets available at the door
Writer/performer Diat Alferink’s autobiographical work Wakaid Girl Lyndhurst Kid is a story about nationhood, identity and reconciliation. It is a personal story about generosity of spirit, forgiveness and love, told in an intimate, cabaret performance style.