Coming in to the city on Friday night? Don’t miss your chance to be part of spectacular ceremony as Mountain to Mouth (M~M) collides with Geelong After Dark.
M~M is the multi-award winning biennial extreme arts walk, an 80 km journey of discovery.
In the tradition of the Wadawurrung, M~M creates a contemporary songline across the Geelong and Queenscliffe regions.
The journey begins in the Young Yangs mountain range on Friday morning and crosses Geelong’s industrial heartland at nightfall, arriving in the city centre around 9.30pm for the Gathering of the City during Geelong After Dark.
Soak up the festive atmosphere as a lantern-lit procession makes its way along the waterfront to Johnstone Park where choirs and dancers will welcome the ephemeral Canoe sculpture and walkers.
The festivities begin with a smoking ceremony then participants will follow a “Procession of the Earth”. Geelong After Dark participants are invited to join in the procession.
There will be a massed choir led by Jonathon Welch AM (founder of the Choir of Hard Knocks), along with didgeridoo, dancing plus a few other spectacular surprises (we don’t want to give away everything!)
The Gathering of the City is the second of three important M~M ceremonies and is designed to nourish the participants at the end of day one of the two-day pilgrimage.
So get ready to join in the celebrations and sing your heart out to inspire the walkers for the rest of their journey.
This year’s theme for both M~M and Geelong After Dark is ‘Earth’, honouring our many connections to earth and each other.
For Geelong After Dark artists this has inspired many creative responses and interpretations, from earth-themed projections and installations to creations made from recycled and re-purposed items. Many of earth’s creatures and sounds will also come to life in performances, sculptures and stories.
Come along from 6pm and see the city in a whole new light!
