By Kath Gannaway
Benvenuti is back.
After the success of the inaugural Benvenuti Festival last year, members of the Yarra Valley Italian Cultural Group started planning for a repeat performance.
Award winning country music singer Kayla Dwyer is a key part of that plan, along with an exciting collection of people presenting art, music and poetry.
The festival, on Sunday, 13 March, is a community celebration of life and the diverse cultures of the Yarra Valley – a family with great food and wine, lots of fun and activities for kids, all set against the magnificent backdrop of vineyards, orchards and mountains at Killara Estate in Seville.
The proceeds of the festival will go to the Seville CFA, making it a special event for Kayla.
She has a special place in her heart for the CFA and its members as a volunteer with Koroit brigade, and with her tribute song “Mr Fireman’ a feature song on her forthcoming album.
Kayla met up with members of the local CFA recently and said she was looking forward to the festival.
“I travel regularly now to country audiences and feel like that’s where I find my fans” she said.
“People relate to my songs in the country.”
Kayla started with the CFA when she was 16, looking to contribute to her community, but looking also for something “a bit exciting and adventurous”.
She was 18 when she did her first gig and discovered a real love and talent for singing and songwriting.
“The writing is my way of expressing myself – song is absolutely my release,” she said.
Kayla had a message for her Benvenuti audience too.
“Be prepared to get involved at this festival,” she said, indicating she loves her audience to get up, dance and sing along.
While the festival is hosted by the Italian Cultural Group, it is a celebration of the many nationalities and cultures who have contributed from the Wurundjeri people to the waves of migrants who have contributed to the community, business and family life of the region – and there are many!
The festival is free, making it truly accessible to all.
Other highlights include the Kalula Ukulele Band, an exhibition of Pyrography by Joseph Galloway, cooking bonsai and quilting and tapestry demonstrations, Indian dancers, Celtic pipes and guitar, bonsai demonstration, Swedish folk music, poetry and ballads and more.
The festival runs from 11am to to 5pm with the official opening by Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe at noon.
For more information and program, visit www.benvenuti.org.au or phone Jim Brown on 0438 339 459.
