mad march

So I worked it out, it's going to take me approximately the rest of my life to blog about the America trip. And besides you dont want to hear about stuff I did in another country many moons ago, not when so many mazing things are going on right here little old Adelaide!

So forget America, rAdelaide is where its at ya'll

During the season that locals like to call "MAD MARCH" Adelaide plays host to a bajillion (accurate number) of festivals and events that transform the city into a hub of activity, art, culture and fun times!

Over March Adelaide is host to:
Adelaide Fringe Festival

Adelaide Festival of the Arts

WOMADelaide

Writers Week (as part of the Adelaide Festival)

Clipsal 500 (but we dont like to talk about that one)

I got right into the spirit of the festival season this year by signing up to volunteer at both the Fringe Festival and the Adelaide Festival. I was keen to get amongst all the festival atmosphere as much as possible, and I wont say no the volunteer benefits ;)

While I did do some dud jobs, which included spending several days folding letters (no papercuts though!), there were also some really cool jobs that I was lucky enough to get.
Working the traditional Fringe Opening Parade was an interesting experience to say the least. Along with other volunteers my job was to crowd control and ensure people kept on the correct side of the road. This was tough job as the parade was to go down the west side of King William rd and spectators were to stay on the eastern side. But people being people this did not go as smoothly as probably desired. But it was a great experience in working on the logistical side of putting on an event of this magnitude which helped cement my desire to work in the production/planning/organisational side of arts events.

Cue crappy phone photos of the parade:

For the Adelaide Festival of the Arts my role was primarily helping out at Writers Week, being a source of information for patrons and helping in the bookstore with crowd control.

Held in the beautiful Women's Pioneer Memorial Gardens, Writers Week was a great success. It was great to see so many people of so many different ages to come down and hear some really fantastic writers speak about such a wide range of topics. I really enjoyed my time spent in the info booth sitting under the trees, listening to writers talk and giving out the occasional program. Seeing so many people truly excited about the written word inspired me to get into reading again. I used to be a massive bookworm when I was younger, but then life got in the way and Harry Potter became the only books in my life! But im currently reading Holding the Man by Timothy Conigrave, so im moving up in the world. 

I also did a shift at the Festival Centre, or as us artsy people lovingly call it, the Fezzi Centre. The shift was in the info booth and just required me to give people information and directions. It was great to see so many people in and around the Festival Centre excited to see some form of theatre, dance or music. This is exactly the reason I love this time of year in Adelaide. The Fringe and Adelaide Festival gets people excited about the arts, which sadly is not as popular, at least with younger audiences, later in the year. The shift at the info booth was also great because Betty who I was working with got given a free ticket to Ennio Morricone and I was given a free ticket to Raoul. With tickets costing anywhere up to $150 we both won big time that day!

Lastly, I dont mean to brag but the benefits of volunteering at these festivals are pretty great. My fringe pass got me into the Fringe Club or Artist Bar where we all the artists go to chill out. My Adelaide Festival pass allowed me express entry into Barrio, the pop up festival bar (more on that later). The festival pass also entitled me to discount rush tix for festival shows. I got tickets for myself and Mum to A Streetcar and later this week im going to see The Caretaker with friends.

The festival season is officially over now and Adelaide is slowly turning back into its sleepy old self, but the memories of Mad March will not be forgotten by those like myself who cannot stop talking about the amazing shows and the amazing fun they had and who are already looking forward to next years festivities!

Keep your eyes peeled for my reviews on Fringe and Adelaide Festival shows.
(assuming i dont download any more saturday night live episodes...)