The Lockhart River dance ground is set to come alive once again during the Paytham Malkari Festival on 2-3 October. Photo: Christine Howes.
No matter who you are or what culture you belong to, everyone will be welcome to take part in Lockhart River’s dance traditions at the Paytham Malkari Festival.
The fourth edition of the annual Indigenous dance and cultural celebration will return to Quintell Beach on 2-3 October, highlighting Lockhart River’s community pride and strength in the arts.
The festival will welcome back guest dance troupes from other communities, including Pormpuraaw, Bamaga and Yarrabah, as well as open up the dance grounds to all attendees keen to learn the traditional moves of Lockhart River.
“It’s an overt statement around culture as a living and breathing thing, and its continuation regardless of all of the opposition it’s had over the years; our dance tradition remains as strong as ever,” Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council CEO David Clarke said.
“It’s known that other iterations of the festival have been really embracing. Anyone who’s there, regardless of ethnicity, is encouraged onto the dance ground at the end, and everybody’s welcome to Country.
“It’s part of the welcoming element that is a deep vein that runs all through Lockhart. People are very embracing and very welcoming to people to come and enjoy the difference of this part of the world, particularly our creative element.”
With both junior and senior groups showcasing at the festival, Mr Clarke said the performances were a celebratory mix of traditional and modern.
“It’s the young ones whose imaginations are captured, that’s for sure. We’ve got teenagers who are right into it, which is great; it bodes well for the future of those elements of our culture going forward,” he said.
“We’re also bringing a couple of our elders up from Cairns to help with bits and pieces as well.
“We’ve got five different language groups who reside here; all of our communities come together for sport and culture, and this is the peak of cultural expression.”
