Published on: 12th August 2024
Australia’s biggest celebration of Deaf culture is set to take centre stage in 2024, with the return of Deaf Festival Sydney!
The festival invites attendees to immerse themselves in a vibrant showcase of talent from the Deaf community. Deaf Festival Sydney will be held at Cathy Freeman Park, Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday 24 August from 10am-4pm and is free to attend.
The festival is accessible and open to all ages, welcoming people of all abilities. This is a proudly bilingual event, with interpreting and captioning provided across the main stage, workshops and kids’ zone. Volunteer communication assistants will be on the ground to facilitate communication between Auslan and English.
Deaf Connect Chief Services Officer, Brent Phillips, stated that Deaf Connect is proud to sponsor this diverse and engaging community event for the third consecutive year.
“With an incredible array of Deaf performers and a record number of stallholders, Deaf Festival Sydney brings people together for a vibrant celebration of our culture, values, and language. Deaf Connect has a long history with the Deaf Festival in New South Wales, and we’re proud to be the Platinum Sponsor following the growing success in recent years,” Mr Phillips said.
“This time, there will be a multitude of talented artists, performances, and teachings from community members who’ve travelled from far and wide to attend. Whether you’re coming with your family, loved ones, or want to build out your connections in the community, Deaf Festival Sydney embraces people from every part of society.”
“The stallholders, various organisations, and representatives will be present to share resources, information, and support services that empower and unite the Deaf community.”
The Deaf Festival Sydney Organising Committee highlighted the outstanding talent in this year’s lineup of performers and workshops.
“It is with great joy that we bring back this hugely successful celebration of Deaf culture, language, and identity. This year’s lineup features everything from authentic international cooking demonstrations to award-winning Deaf storytelling and creative kids’ art workshops,” the Committee said.
Festival headliners include writer, poet, and essayist Fiona Murphy, Deaf artist and community advocate Sue Jo Wright, and a fabulous array of activities for young people, including a competition for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students and a kids yoga workshop. The incredible Emma Memma will also have a meet and greet stall to welcome young families.
In addition, the festival offers a variety of interactive activities that promise to engage attendees of all ages. Sabeeha, a talented Deaf woman from Iraq, will provide a live cooking demonstration and tasting session of authentic Iraqi cuisine. The kids’ zone is packed with exciting activities including an art-making workshop, promoting accessibility in creativity.
Deaf Festival Sydney is proudly supported by Deaf Connect, Convo Australia, Concentrix (NRS), Hearing Australia, Next Sense, PAH!, Word of Mouth Technology, Bradley Reporting, Emma Memma and Escala Partners. We also extend our gratitude to Parramatta City Council for their generous support through various grants programs.
For tickets, program and event information, visit the Deaf Festival Sydney website.
