Sometimes it's a tough gig living in Adelaide. We don't have those famous New Year's Eve fireworks that almost seem to blow up that bridge. We don't have the MCG or iconic sporting events like the Australian Open. We do have beaches, hills, an easy commute, affordable houses and more wineries per capita than is good for our collective livers. But I digress.
Is there an iconic Adelaide event?
For me it is the annual four day music festival, WOMADelaide, which begins this Friday. WOMAD (World of Music, Arts & Dance) and Adelaide go together in a portmanteau that I hope makes the festival hard to steal (Victoria, I am looking at you!).
Founded by Peter Gabriel to promote world music, the WOMAD festival has been going strong in Adelaide since 1992. It's the kind of event we do very well, embracing it with a loyalty and enthusiasm our eastern state neighbours would no doubt regard as tragically unhip.
The trees in Botanic Park provide shade, atmosphere and entertainment. I swear I've seen bats moving in time to banjo strumming, and I hadn't inhaled anything interesting! Artists from around the globe bring their music to share, often fusing more than one influence. A recent example was Abigail Washburn, who combined Americana banjo with Chinese folksongs. As you do.
The difficult question each day is ‘beer or cider?’ Coopers and The Hills Cider Company provide good local drinking options. Then there's the food. An astonishing array of global offerings that go well beyond traditional takeaway. But at least once per festival I indulge in an organic doughnut from Byron Bay Organic Doughnuts, proof that organic and healthy do not always belong in the same sentence.
The four day pass is the best value and lowest stress way to enjoy the festival. Any other ticketing option makes me feel like I've arrived late or left early from the best party of the year. It's easy to mock WOMAD. Where do the dreadlocked, tie-dyed hippies hang out for the rest of the year? Is it true you can get slightly high just from the surrounding fumes? Is it a playground for chardonnay socialists? There were audible gasps of horror from my fellow festival patrons when I commented that Tony Abbott's penchant for speedos revealed that he was in pretty good shape for a fellow of his age. I had to add, ‘Not that I'd vote for him or