A truly Tasmanian music line-up, surreal Salvador Dali-inspired parties and Championship Wrestling are just a few events from this year's stacked Junction Arts Festival program.
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The annual festival released its 2023 program on Friday, July 28, showing off its "kaleidoscope of arts, culture and musical experiences" coming to Launceston's unusual spaces.
Returning September 20 to 24 this year, Junction coincides with the spring equinox and is encouraging festival-goers to shake off those winter blues.
For five days and nights, Junction will host shows - musical, performative and communal - across Launceston, including at venues like Sawtooth ARI, Du Cane Brewing, dAda mUse and the festival's hub and home, Prince's Square.
Executive producer of the festival, Mary Shannon, said this year's festival was developed "with community at its heart."
"This is a vibrant and accessible program that celebrates the wonderful arts community we have here in Tassie," Ms Shannon said.
"The program is bursting with extraordinary experiences which highlight the ingenuity of Tasmanian artists and arts organisations while also celebrating everything that is Launceston."
Junction's line-up this year is packed with free and ticketed events for kids and families as well as those looking for an early evening boogie or a late night delight.
Visual art, mesmerising light installations and a lineup of the island's best original music abound in the program, alongside circus and cabaret, Tassie food feasts and even wrestling.
Opening night on Wednesday, September 20, will transform Prince's Square into a surrealist wonderland for the festival's theme, drawing inspiration from Salvador Dali's '70s parties of otherworldly costumes and the unconscious mind.
The event is also an ode to dAda mUse and its "one of a kind place in the world".
Junction Arts Festival president and chairwoman, Rebecca Birrell, said this year's date, coinciding with the spring equinox, is a slightly later one than previous years.
"We emerge from the underworld of winter to embrace the light and abundance that spring brings on this date," Ms Birrell said.
"In this program, we're alluding to that celebration light, joy and hope with many of our events."
The opening night festivities will be hosted by LPA (Les Petites Annonces) and soundtracked by three bands and artists - Alegra, Baba Bruja's Afrobeat Funk dance orchestra and DJ duo of Em and Sexy Lucy.
Each night of the festivities, Prince's Square's Val d'Osne fountain will light up with the projection art project Ha Ya from Darrly Rogers in a "sumptuous and spectacular affair".
The Festival Hub at Prince's Square will be the home for Junction's live music, which brings performances from across the island and beyond, with headliners including Miss Kaninna on Thursday, A. Swayze + The Ghosts on Friday, TEK TEK Ensemble on Saturday and The Songbird Exchange on Sunday.
The program also heralds a number of dance troupes, like Stompin Youth Choreographic Project and their A Recipe for Rebellion, and plenty of comedy and cabaret from the likes of Launceston-based circus company ROOKE.
As well, there's Big Heat, a peek behind the curtain of Tasmanian Championship Wrestling and the underdog story of 17-year-old Izzy's ascension to local wrestling celebrity.
And Up Late returns after its success in the 2022 program, where it sold out shows with its raunchy humour.
Curated by the inimitable godfather of Tasmanian circus and theatre, Tony Rooke, Up Late is an evening of raucous fun where anything goes.
In another year of expanding its horizons, The Great Junction Scavenger Hunt continues too. Alongside the final Tweed Ride, it will send festival-goers across the city in costume, only this time to solve clues rather than enjoy the scenery from the heights of a penny-farthing bike.
Visual arts at Sawtooth ARI and Prince's Square, as well as live art by local theatre company IO Performance round out the program.
Ms Birrell said the program was a reflection of the creative expression that Tasmanian had a sterling reputation for.
"I passionately believe in the transformative power of art and believe it should be available to everybody," she said.
"That's what this year's Junction Arts Festival hopes to capture."
Junction Arts Festival will run from September 20 to 24 at various locations in Launceston CBD, with Prince's Square the festival hub.
For tickets and a full list of events on the program visit junctionartsfestival.com.au
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Declan Durrant
Declan Durrant has a passion for poetry, visual arts, and theatre, and is The Examiner's arts critic and culture reporter. Got a story? Get in touch: declan.durrant@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Declan Durrant has a passion for poetry, visual arts, and theatre, and is The Examiner's arts critic and culture reporter. Got a story? Get in touch: declan.durrant@austcommunitymedia.com.au
