You Can Now Take a Virtual Tour of Alice Springs' Dazzling Parrtjima Festival

Watch the Northern Territory festival's dazzling sights from your couch.
Sarah Ward
September 12, 2020

It might just be Australia's brightest festival, and it's back to light up Alice Springs once again. That'd be Parrtjima - A Festival In Light, which kicked off for 2020 on Friday, September 11 and runs through until Sunday, September 20. And, while it's being held as a physical event, the fest also has something on offer for everyone who can't be there in person.

For the first time, Parrtjima is hosting a virtual tour — via a four-and-a-half-minute video that showcases the event's dazzling, glowing sights. Expect luminous lights and plenty of them, with the tour giving viewers a peek at the Indigenous arts, culture, music and storytelling fest's enthusiastic celebration, including its signature installations and new displays.

This year, all of the above falls under the theme of 'lifting our spirits'. Even from afar, via your screen, seeing the Alice Springs Desert Park come alive will do just that. You'll also see the huge artwork that transforms a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic, 300-million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges each year, showering it with light each night of the festival. Yes, it's spectacular — and called The Ebb and Flow of Sky and Country in 2020, it's designed to reflect the colours and movement of the changing seasons.

Check out the virtual tour below:

Of course, Parrtjima is just one of Northern Territory's two glowing attractions in 2020, with Australia's Red Centre lighting up in multiple ways. The festival is a nice supplement to Bruce Munro's Field of Light installation, which — after multiple extensions — is now on display indefinitely.

And, in good news for everyone who can't head to the NT this year, Parrtjima will be back in 2021 — taking place again from April 9–18.

Parrtjima – A Festival in Light's runs until Sunday, September 20. For further details, visit the festival website.

Top images: Lachlan Dodds-Watson, Greg McAdam.

Published on September 12, 2020 by Sarah Ward
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