The Sydney Festival has begun! I wasn’t rostered on any volunteering shifts until next weekend, but I got an emergency message last night asking if I could help out at Bondi today. Why not? So I slipped on my yellow shirt, slapped on my Festival hat, and slopped on some sunscreen before making the trek out to Bondi. It was an absolutely beautiful day.
I headed to the Pavilion and found the setup area for The Whale. The folks from Spare Parts Puppet Theatre had set up the scaffolding yesterday and then blocked it off for the night. I helped take down the barriers and bollards.
The puppets – including the 10m long whale – were being prepped nearby. I got to help carry out the whale!
The talented puppeteers got to work hanging the whale and the other sea creatures
The whale was in two parts, with the lower part made of billowing netting. She also had thousands of LEDs inside that should look beautiful at night.
Once they had her hung, they spent a lot of time tweaking the position of the support ropes. “Do you need any help?” “Sure, grab that rope!” I was excited to lend a hand.
And then it was time to open to the public! There was a steady stream of folks coming to and from the beach, and we invited them to check out the whale and help her swim by pulling on the ropes. I made a little video. You can also hear some of the amazing music.
It was pretty hot. I diligently applied sunscreen and refilled my water bottle regularly. My fellow volunteer Pete bright me a much needed Zooper Dooper. 😂
A lot of people were shy about coming up to the artwork. I spent a lot of time tugging on ropes myself and yelling to passersby: “WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A GO? IT’S FREE AND REALLY FUN!”
And then later I took a break and got myself a Frosty Fruits.
At 4 we put the whale to “sleep” for an hour so everyone could have a break. My shift over, I couldn’t resist taking one more photo on the beach.
What a fun day! The Whale is running for ten days, and I’ll be back for another shift next weekend. If you’re in Sydney, you should check it out.