DARLINGTON Arts Festival is back for another year, and the festival’s committee president said it’s bigger and better than ever.

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, November 2-3, visitors are invited to step into the heart of the Perth Hills art scene at Darlington Village, with the festival showcasing work from more than 500 artists of all mediums and levels of expertise.

Committee president Amy Pepper said the festival had grown significantly since its humble beginnings in 1954.

“The early festivals were informal one-day events showcasing the work of local painters and potters. These were organised as a thank-you gesture to raise funds for volunteer firefighters who regularly saved both homes and studios from summer bushfires,” she said.

“The Darlington arts festival brings some 15,000 visitors to Darlington for a vibrant weekend of nature, art and community. Our much-loved community festival has helped celebrate and nurture artists, artisans and performers for decades, creating special memories for generations of locals. Those experiences for many people over the years build a real sense of belonging and welcoming and that is really the heart of the festival.”

Ms Pepper said this year the festival would have a much bigger family and youth focus.

“The younger kids can have a go at making some junk instruments and jam with Junkadelic, take a trip to Fairyland and watch as curator Jina Lee demonstrates her craft of stone carving from 3pm to 5pm on Saturday.

“Teens are invited to hang out at the Darlington Station Reserve throughout the weekend with weed weaving and intuitive abstract painting with contemporary artist Issac Huggins. From 5.30pm to 8pm on Saturday night, we are dedicating this zone to our youth with local live music and a free silent disco with tunes of their choice.”

A new funding agreement with the shire of Mundaring helped the committee to continue running the festival.

“The Shire of Mundaring has supported this signature event over many years and recognises its importance. The festival is run entirely by volunteers, so it is important in terms of the benefits of volunteering for individuals and the community: we are really lucky to have this event to help keep us all connected and well,” Ms Pepper said.

“Our three-year funding agreement gives our committee of volunteers some certainty, giving us the ability to plan ahead and keep the festival growing in terms of the diversity and quality of what we can offer. The shire funding, in conjunction with funding from Lotterywest, covers the majority of our basic infrastructure costs like shade, sound and lighting, seating, first aid and toilets.”
This year, the funding agreement between the shire and the festival was increased from $11,455 to $20,850 per year.
Ms Pepper said the funding increase would work to close the current gap between funding for single-day events and large-scale festivals like Darlington Arts in the Shire of Mundaring and help the festival committee provide more diverse and quality entertainment, as well as improve their engagement with Darlington’s youth.

“The increase in funding will be used over the next three years to build our youth engagement program, which is aimed at building a sense of belonging for teenagers at the festival and encouraging those teens to get involved and build skills to become the artists of the future,” she said.

The festival is free to enter, and more information and the full festival program can be found at www.darlingtonartsfestival.com