Yugul Mangi and Skinnyfish Music present the 2012 Festival in Ngukurr

Ngukurr is a musical hub in the Northern Territory. Musicians have gravitated towards this South East Arnhem community for decades, with its links to Katherine to the West and Groote to the East. For many years it has produced festivals of status which continues to profile high level performance aspects of contemporary, collaborative and traditional music, independently of outside influence.

This year’s festival is a Yugul Mangi Aboriginal Corporation initiative in collaboration with Skinnyfish Music who have had a long history of recording and mentoring bands of the Roper region. These bands include Lonely Boys, Yugul Band, Broken English, Tribal Vision, T-Lynx, Bad T-Boyz and more. All of these bands together with other local and regional musicians from neighbouring communities as Numbulwar, Groote (including Mamabalyye and Miliyakburra bands) will be performing live at the Yugul Mangi Festival. The bands will be onstage from 7pm until midnight on both Friday 15th and Sat 16th.

Throughout the day on Saturday there will be activities galore including jumping castles and water slides, a girl’s basketball competition, and a local football carnival run by AFL NT and the Sport & Recreation team. Sunday will be filled with more activities for the whole family including a mini gymkhana & horse rides hosted by the Ngukurr school, and a Ngukurr Bulldogs home game.

The Ngukurr Arts Centre will ensure the incredible artistic talents of the area are on show with something for all ages to participate in – painting demonstrations, art & weaving workshops, mural painting, and the carving of a traditional canoe during the festival by Donald Blitner Senior. The Art Centre will be open all weekend with free tea and coffee for visitors.

Friday and Saturday evenings will commence with cultural activities including traditional dance, leading into the music program. The weekend of festivities will conclude on Sunday evening with a church service followed by a presentation of films and locally made short clips.

This festival is an fantastic opportunity to experience the incredible and diverse talents hiding out near the Roper Bar!

When: Fri 15 Jun – Sun 17 June (from 4pm Friday, activities all day Saturday and Sunday)
Where: Ngukurr Community Oval
Cost: Free
Camping: Limited camping at Ngukurr. Camp sites & accommodation at Roper Bar (28 kms from Ngukurr community)
Getting there: 331 kms South East of Katherine along the Roper Hwy (partly unsealed road & low river crossing)
Permits: Not required
Contact: Yugul Mangi 8977 4203 or Skinnyfish Music 8941 8066