Overview
Staying up late absorbing after-dark art and culture might sound like a pastime reserved for inner city folk, but come May, that's exactly what the crowds will be doing in one of Melbourne's outer suburbs, too. Werribee is set to score a brand-new 24-hour arts festival filled with music, performances, live art and film.
Simply dubbed 24, the inaugural fest is set to take over Chirnside Park from 6pm on Saturday, May 6 to 6pm on Sunday, May 7. It'll be an all-ages affair that's free to explore, with a jam-packed program of happenings to keep you entertained non-stop for 1440 minutes straight.
The Riverside Stage will play host to a broad-ranging lineup of acts, including all-female Wurundjeri dance outfit Djirri Djirri, reggae singer-songwriter Nhatty Man, hip hop and spoken word artist NOMAD, and Amadou Suso & Friends Band, showing off those legendary skills on the kora (a West African stringed instrument).
Tarabeat and MzRizk will treat audiences to a fusion of classic and contemporary Arabic tunes, Halo Vocal Ensemble will be delivering their signature RnB-soaked sound and indie-rock three-piece Berkeley will have the crowds thrashing.
The multi-sensory fun continues away from the stage, with a slew of giant installations and live art performances. You'll spy the massive tune-spinning robotic insect UKI, recognisable from appearances at White Night and Burning Man, plus pop-up dance performances by Janette Hoe and a colourful cast of roving entertainers weaving through the night.
You can unleash your own creativity with a couple of large-scale interactive works by Slow Art Collection, wander through a luminous garden maze made entirely from recycled plastics, and see artist and designer Callum Preston (set builder for RONE's Time) transform a beat-up car into a neon masterpiece live in front of your eyes.
There's a giant interactive kaleidoscope, games of glow-in-the-dark tennis and a silent disco that'll have you bopping from 11pm until 7am. You can even put your feet up, pop on some headphones and catch a flick, thanks to the 24-Hour Outdoor Cinema, which'll be screening back-to-back classics right through the festival.
And of course, to keep you fuelled for all that late-night action, there'll be food trucks onsite slinging a wide array of goodies.
The inaugural 24 will run from 6pm on Saturday, May 6–6pm on Sunday, May 7, at Chirnside Park, 220 Watton Street, Werribee.
Top image: Halo Vocal Ensemble