“We know that we can inject a lot of fun and creativity into dealing with the serious issues ofclimate change and environmental degradation. There are steps we can all take in our individual daily lives that help to preserve the environment and bring more harmony and connectedness onto the planet,” he says.

“When we appreciate the magnificence of the natural environment, we make a greater effort to look after it.”

On the main Festival stage, rhythms and dance beats abound all day with some of Australia’s top performers, including OKA, with their incredible fusion of roots, dub, reggae, jazz and organic electronic and world sounds, The Kahn Brothers, with their Beatle-esque melodies and warmuplifting tones,

As well as the music featuring on the main Festival stage, buskers will be performing in the Barefoot Bar, a drumming circle invites Festival-goers to join in and there will be a host of roving performers.One

These awards invite works submitted prior to the Festival and the finalists will be showcased at the Festival.

Festival organisers are working to have as many climate-friendly products and practices as possible, reducing energy, resources and create waste products.

“We hope to inspire thousands of people to reconnect with nature and live more environmentally friendly lives. Of course, Earth Festival will be carbon neutral, but being environmentally friendly is so much more than just a matter of offsetting,” says von Bergen. “We hope that overall EarthFestival 2008 has a positive effect on planet earth.”

He says that as the Festival aims to support threatened species among other environmental concerns, they are donating a percentage of the profits towards the conservation of sharks through support of the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

Starting at 12am and finishing at 10pm, the Earth Festival has something for everyone, young and old; rhythmic, festive or laidback:

The OKA sound is deeply rooted in a laid-back coastal style, with a sound that’s sometimes ambient and other times rock-inspired. With four albums under their belt, they do a fusion of world sounds: roots, dub, reggae, jazz and organic electronic. As big supporters of the environment and of promoting peace, they fit perfectly with the festival’s aim. www.okamusic.com.au

The Kahn Brothers, recently touring with Lior and Ben Lee, are on the way up with their Beatleesque melodies and warm uplifting tones. Their smooth flowing songs offer audiences something to believe in, with their new album Love Melts Fear out now. www.thekahnbrothers.com

Kerrianne Cox is one of Australia’s premier Indigenous artists. Cox’s songs are a mix of country, rock and blues. Simply by playing a six-string guitar, the beauty and depth of her lyrics move even the most jaded of listeners. Cox reveals the personal side of her life, while singing about love, hopeand the land. www.kerriannecox.com

A songwriter of many musical tongues, from the sprawling guitar thunderstorms of The Church to the opiated dronescapes and psychedelic vision of his solo recordings and paintings, Steve Kilbey has created an all-embracing artistic universe of unearthly beauty.

Motivated by her belief that music is a tool through which positive change can be inspired, Saritah’s songs combine lyrics that are at once global and personal, political and spiritual, with music that incorporates many influences from around the globe.

From soul through to folk to roots and world beats, Saritah has clearly crafted her own style, which has a sincere, raw energy, and whether solo or with a band, is performed with passion to captivate listeners, young or old. www.saritah.com

Matt James has been known for his extraordinary talent as a didgeridoo player. He can turn the drone of the didgeridoo into a beautiful musical symphony of sounds that can soothe and warm the heart. See him performing in the Barefoot Bar. www.mattjames.com.au

Claude Hay

Claude Hay has now launched his solo career with his rootsy/groove rock show that is more like a band than a one man performance, although the latter is actually true. Claude's solo act features his right foot on drums and percussion, his left foot on live looping and conducting and his hands on bass guitar, acoustic guitar and doumbek. Not to mention his vocals as the lead singer and back up.

Earth Festival 2008 will also include a ‘welcome to country’ ceremony from the traditional owners, the Gadigal people.

Straight from the jungle - these guys have a positive message and will be doing a number of shows during the day. Adults and kids alike will find themselves 'doing the kangaroo' for days to come!

www.amazingdrummingmonkeys.com

This toe-tapping hip-swinging animated feature from George Miller is a must see for children and adults alike. It's a musical fun-loving penguin-fest with a poignant message about what humans are doing to the world.

This is a film that gazes with such awe at the mystery of life on earth, that it seems almost childlike and yet is so purely cinematic it can only have emerged from a master. An extraordinary nonnarrative film that enables audiences to both see and experience as a physical reality, how individual healing and the broader healing of the planet are inextricably linked.

This incredible series from Sir David Attenborough takes audiences on a secret guided tour of the world of plants that no human eye could witness unassisted by the lens. It reveals plants in their process of struggle to travel, grow, flower, and even interact socially, both competing and working together to survive.

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR CHILDREN

Children are invited to have a go making lanterns and other artworks in a workshop setting, have a try on the high-wire trapeze (bookings essential), or to test their circus skills including juggling, balancing and spinning. There will be special kid's yoga classes, the chance to see giant roaming puppets or to sit down to an outdoor screening of one of the festival’s featured films, listed above.

IN-RHYTHM DRUMMING

In-Rhythm presents this event in which festival goers are urged to bring drums, bells and shakers in order to assist in the creation of the biggest Drum Circle in the Southern Hemisphere. There will also be a series of drum-making workshops and a 'blessing the land' drumming procession.

MEDITATION

Learn how to use movement, breathing, sound and visualisation to help you take those first steps towards meditating. Meditation teachers at Earth Festival 2008 are promising to stage one of the largest group meditations in Australia. Their motto is: “We cannot hope to heal the planet until we heal ourselves.”

ENVIRONMENT: Save Our Sharks

Sharks are at the top of the food chain and play a pivotal role in the ocean's eco-system, affecting everything right down to Phytoplankton that are responsible for most of the atmosphere's oxygen

www.amcs.org.au  

Earth Festival is contributing profits from the event to Save the Shark awareness campaigns via the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).

The Australian Marine Conservation Society is a not-for-profit charity that creates marine national parks, saves our ocean wildlife and makes our fisheries sustainable. Sharks have been around for 450 million years, yet humans have wiped out 90 per cent of them in only 30 years. If we continue, many species will become extinct.

(02) 8904 0822, prue@tjc.com.au, 0410 541 663, www.tjc.com.au

EARTH FESTIVAL 2008

Time: 12pm to 10 pm

Tickets: $35 adults. Children under ten years, entry is FREE if accompanied by an adult

Earth Festival Office: 02 9280 1445

A days celebration of this wonderful planet with music art and culture in the beautiful surrounds of centennial park.  Food and market stalls are invited to attend.  We are looking for creative handcraft stalls, recycled products, environmentally friendly products and services, and positive community groups who are promoting peace and wellbeing.   

The Market

All food and Market stallholders must use environmentally friendly/biodegradeable packaging and have a sustainable ethic in their stalls operation.

Centennial Park is a special place and a great festival location with so many people attending the park on weekends anyway. 

Applications close the 20^th of October and stall numbers are limited.

For further information and a PDF application form contact Lynda, details provided.

Kind Regards

Lynda Simpson

Bazaar Marketing

Ph: 0410 511 635

Fax: 0754 35 8312

www.bazaarmarketing.com.au

bazaarmarketing@optusnet.com.au

Pentateuch Gallery Live Art multimedia production call to artists and film crew.