Warm up at SpringFest with free family fun at Flinders

circus-oz-thursday
Circus Oz returns to Flinders at Bedford Park for two shows on Saturday, with performers Kate Fryer, Luke Taylor and Geoffrey Dunstan.

Flinders University is celebrating 50 years of creativity, discovery and world-changing ideas at its free community event, SpringFest 2016, this weekend.

From 11am to 5pm on Saturday (15 October), Flinders’ scenic Bedford Park campus opens its doors to the public to welcome spring with live music, artisan markets, family entertainment including art and craft activities for children, live science shows, a ‘Flinders by the Decade’ marquee exhibition, and more.

Students past and present will tell their stories – from the stars of the Flinders Drama Centre and bestselling children’s book author Mem Fox, to behind-the-scenes tours of the intriguing fossil lab, animal nursery the University’s Art Museum.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the community to see our incredible collection of ancient fossils, how Flinders is leading a clownfish conservation breeding program, and also our intriguing Art Museum,” says Callista Thillou, executive director of Strategic Marketing and Communication at Flinders University.

“This is the first time that Flinders University has flung open its doors to the public to make the most of our award-winning hub and plaza, bringing to life many of the research and academic areas for those who are curious about what happens behind the walls of our institution,” she says.

“SpringFest is an opportunity to experience Flinders, meet our people and poke a little behind the scenes. So come and join us, if only to see the spectacular high-wire acrobatics of Circus Oz which Flinders Drama Centre alumni started back in the 1970s.”

Among the highlights are:

  • Dazzling MC Eloise Green at centre stage in the main central plaza will introduce circus stunt performers Circus Oz. The new generation Circus Oz blends high-flying trapeze with humorous spectacular acrobatics for their two shows, at 11.30am and 1.30pm.
  • Children’s science shows, Lego and inflatable castle fun, art and craft activities and free face painting, balloon art and bubble-blowing at the new Student Hub and Plaza throughout the day.
  • Come and try football with players from the South Adelaide Panthers.
  • Displays of Flinders University’s most inspiring success stories, both in the Flinders by the Decades marquee and the special Flinders 50 Creatives and The Investigator Transformed exhibitions. Current Drama and Creative Arts students will also stage displays.
  • Access to the hidden gems of Flinders University’s Art Museum.
  • See the different coloured clownfish, including tropical Nemo families, at the animal nursery at the School of Biological Sciences.
  • Visit the extensive Flinders Palaeontology Laboratory’s Australian megafauna, impressive 3D Gogo fossils from remote Outback locations and some of the earliest fish fossils in the world, including 390 million-year-old Microbrachius from Scotland.
  • Hear South Australia’s own (and Flinders alumna) Mem Fox read from Possum Magic, Koala Lou, other Australian classics Where is the Green Sheep?, Goodnight, Sleep Tight and her new book Ducks Away, illustrated by Judy Horacek.
  • A full range of food vendors in the hub and plaza will be open, including Café Bon Voyage in Flinders Laneway, plus food trucks and a pop-up bar in the plaza.
  • Celebrations of international students and multiculturalism with Flinders’ own Indonesian Jembatan initiative, featuring giant puppets, traditional dance, craft making and the exciting Javanese Gamelan Sekar Laras orchestra at Flinders’ Pendopo cultural pavilion.
  •  Dance like Zorba at the 38th Dimitria Festival, with celebrations of Modern Greek language and the wisdom of Aristotle by Adelaide’s Greek community.
  • Enjoy a picnic at the picturesque lake, topping up with yummy food and drinks from Flinders outlets such as Toly’s Vietnamese, Urban Paddock, Wholefoods, Burger Theory, Campus Store, Subway, Kutchi Deli Parwana, Grind and Press Café, Café Bon Voyage, Alere Restaurant, and more.
  • A special ‘high tea’ celebration at Flinders University’s celebrated Alere Restaurant. Taste seven blends of Devotea tea for just $20 per person, and learn how the story of tea and the history of higher learning have been intertwined for more than 400 years. Bookings here.
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  • More entertainment at the Flinders Tavern from 5pm with an ‘invasion’ of 1960s British rock hits.

Admission and car parking is free for the event. Download the program here

For all the event details please visit: www.flinders.edu.au/springfest

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