 |
Floridians Find Out How To Be Australian
Pembroke Pines, Florida - Sunday, October 28, 2007  Australian festival starts Friday at C.B. Smith Park: Three-day festival starts Friday at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pine
Sunday, October 28, 2007; Posted: 12:16 PM
_________________________
Don't know much about Australia beyond that it inspired Outback Steakhouse?
Brigitte von Bulow wants to change that.
So she has arranged what's believed to be the area's first Australian festival, to be held Friday through Nov. 4 at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines.
Von Bulow, the festival's executive director, grew up in Sydney before moving to the United States in 2000, and there's more than boomerangs, kangaroos and shrimp on the barbie.
"I really love my country and I'm just very proud of being Australian," she said. "And I want to share that with everyone.
"We have very nice people, very good people."
The festival opens to the public at 3 p.m. Friday, but from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., she has organized educational exhibits for schools. There are four stations (government, music, sports and Australian culture), and classes will rotate through every 20 minutes.
The festival will have entertainment, food, an area for children and cultural exhibitions, including sheep herding, teams demonstrating Australian rules football and cricket.
The event began in 1997 in Nashville, and von Bulow, who volunteered at the festival there, offered to become executive director as interest waned. She lives in Miami with her husband, who is an investor.
She said C.B. Smith Park was the best venue because Broward County holds a variety of cultural festivals there, and "people are likely to come, even if it's not a festival involving their own nationality."
Fifteen Australian music acts are booked -- some flying in specifically for the festival, von Bulow said -- playing genres such as "Australian alternative country" and "urban acoustic rock." An artist by trade, von Bulow said she has spent "countless" hours piecing together the festival and its comprehensive Web site.
Broward assistant parks and recreation director Mike Harlan said to his knowledge it's the county's first Australian festival.
"We are always looking for events that reflect the diversity of the county and anticipate that this event will provide that opportunity," he said.
Von Bulow and others estimate Broward's Australian population at 1,000 -- smaller than most nationalities here. Many of them work in the marine industry or have married Americans, and because they speak English, there are no problems assimilating, and their effect on South Florida is documented much less frequently as that of other cultures, she said.
"I would say we're a more innocent people, perhaps with a more positive outlook on life," she said. "By having the festival, we just want to share our heart and our way of living, with people here."
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune, Nick Sortal can be reached at nsortal@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7906)
To see more of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sun-sentinel.com/. Copyright (c) 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
|
|
