Todd Mall Precinct Add Even More to Parrtjima – A Festival in Light

Alice Springs’ Parrtjima Festival will be bigger than ever in 2018 and 2019, with activity and entertainment extended into the Todd Mall and new lighting installations at the Desert Park; made possible by a boosted Territory Labor Government’s investment in the event as part of its record $103 million Turbocharging Tourism stimulus.

Running from 28 September – 7 October this year, the ten-day program is set to attract more visitors to Alice Springs, showcasing film, musical performance, dance and conversations with artists across two event precincts and bringing together the stories, sounds and rhythms of Central Australia – home of the Arrernte of Mparntwe.

The seven new lighting installations and an expanded cultural program at Parrtjima’s precinct at Alice Springs Desert Park will be complemented by a second event precinct in Todd Mall in Alice Springs CBD. This new precinct will offer another night of activity and entertainment for both the local community and tourists alike. 

The Parrtjima Todd Mall precinct will feature lighting effects along the mall, a new installation telling the Caterpillar dreaming stories of Alice Springs and a second Knowledge program site on the central lawns including creative workshops, film and music. Business owners in Todd Mall and stakeholders are being encouraged to support the event through extensions to trading hours and participation in the event marketing program.

Headlining this year’s festival music program is internationally acclaimed duo Electric Fields, who will bring their genre-defying sounds to the infinite spaces of the vast Red Centre. Zaachariaha Fielding, vocalist for Electric Fields who often sings in his traditional languages of the Anangu people, said the duo jumped at the chance to be part of the festival. 

The festival is a free public event and the only authentic Indigenous light festival of its kind - proudly showcasing the oldest continuous culture on earth through the newest technology, on a 300-million-year-old natural canvas.

For more information visit: www.parrtjimaaustralia.com.au or www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au/events/2018-09-28/parrtjima-festival-light