Now in its sixth year The Dreaming festival held from June 11 – 14, has matured into a much loved and anticipated event that is held in a 500 acre rural property in a forest setting in Woodfordia, Queensland. The three days and four nights over the Queen's birthday long weekend has grown from an attendance of a mere 5000 in 2005 to 23,000 last year with over 80% of the audience being non-Indigenous Australians with an even spread of ages, from kids through to the elderly. This time round festival organisers are expecting more than 25,000 visitors and not just Australians to take in the wonderful ambience and unique character of this destination event.

The Dreaming has a culturally relevant programme of contemporary and traditional Indigenous culture rich with ceremony, theatre, dance, music, comedy, cabaret, film, debate, discussion and workshops. The festival streets are lined with restaurants, street theatre, art galleries, craft stalls and dotted with fire circles. A walk through the festival streets can be a journey through ancient sounds and ceremonies, through art galleries and music venues, to the avant-garde or classical performances in BlakDramatics.

While Australia’s varied Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are well represented in a wide weave of song, dance and theatre, the festival also welcomes global Indigenous communities including North American and Pacific cultures who bring their own colourful, exciting and thought-provoking acts to enliven the event.

The Dreaming festival is an important event on Australia’s cultural calendar, and in 2009 audiences described the festival as enriching, energizing and inspirational, with the festival’s atmosphere cited as the most satisfying aspect overall. In keeping with the 'in harmony with nature' aspect of the festival, a strong environment policy underpins each decision made by the Queensland Folk Federation. It takes the contributions of 850 volunteers to put together this all encompassing festival.

So come this second weekend of June, the campfires will crackle and the sounds of the world's oldest cultures will fill the picturesque valley of Woodfordia. The Dreaming festival will open with an hour long song, dance and ceremony that will lay down the foundation for the ensuing hours of global gathering, celebration, friendship, living cultural immersion and lifelong memories. The Opening Ceremony will see a traditional Bora Ground recreated and over 50 performers singing and dancing across the Ceremony Grounds as they welcome all while paying respects to the traditional custodians of the land (Jinibara Nation), the Jinibara people.

The Jinibara people who are registered as the native title claimants are descendents of Fanny Mason also known as Jowalmel and Johnny McKenzie aka Wangiramu. The world of the Jinibara is rich in Dreaming places and ceremonial grounds including Bora rings, stone arrangements, camping places, food resource areas and story places.

The 2010 Dreaming festival will close with a teaser of what will be in store for 2011 under the theme of 'Old Traditions, New Beginnings' and will also mark the last time that the festival will be celebrated at the grounds, it having outgrown the space.

Dance, theatre and music
Stevie Salas (Apache) has performed with Mick Jagger, George Clinton, toured with Rod Stewart and been named as one of the top 50 guitarists in the world. It was Stevie Salas’ hand that licked the guitar in Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure. On June 14, at The Dreaming festival, Salas will grace the stage twice in one day. Along with Salas, the much respected King Kapisi - New Zealand based Samoan hip hop artist Bill Urale, and the multi award winning act Digging Roots are but some of the amazing international line up at The Dreaming festival this year.

Iwantja Band, an emerging force of raw Aboriginal rock from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjara (APY) lands that fuses elements of desert reggae, blues and heavy metal; Radical Son, a singer/songwriter who effortlessly crosses genres from hip hop roots through to soulful social statement, blending spoken word, tender crooning and caustic rhymes; and festival favourites the deadly hip hop brothers Street Warriors with their electric energy live and unique musical message make up just a few of the Aussie heavyweights slated to take to the stage.

Australia’s own established multicultural communities will also contribute as usual with music, dance, drama and poetry from the countries of their birth. Andean, African and Caribbean entertainers also feature. Theatre production My Name is Sud (Sood) is a ground breaking and socially significant work produced by the emerging Sudanese communities, Spankinhide bring the rhythm and pulse of traditional percussion from West Africa and Pacific cultures are well represented through the family mask performances of 2 Pela Island from Papua New Guinea.

Meanwhile The Dingo Shed and the Little BlakDuck will host Laugh Out Loud: Comedy Unplugged with the deadly Sean Choolburra, Deadly Funny winner Kevin Kropinyeri and the outrageously humorous storytelling of Shake-A-Speare to keep you both riveted and in stitches. Oni the Haitian Sensation, provocateur and slam poet who has performed extensively in the US, Europe and Canada - catch her on the Red Couch in the Nomads Palace, at the Slam Poetry Workshops and daily at the Poets Breakfast, will get you both thinking deeply with her insights and keep you entranced with her wordplay.

After packing the house last year, Constantina Bush and The Bushettes by Kamahi King will be back. The amazing drag cabaret show left 2009 audiences wowed by Constantina's voice and her krumping Bushettes. King will also show a more traditional side of himself through a gallery of his paintings. His paintings explore the world of DNA through the fine lines in our fingerprints. Exquisitely coloured with pastel and ochre tones, he is a significant contemporary Australian artist. King embraces and layers the influence colonisation has had on his own worldview and his paintings are a beautiful reflection of this.

The BlakDramatics programme at The Dreaming will integrate audiences into the intimate worlds of ancestors, life cycles, the seasons, constellations and totems, as well as journeying through comedy, love, history and their contemporary society. Warupaw Uu – Echo of Drums, choreographed by Rita Pryce, a dance theatre piece that weaves dance, rhythm, the seasons and winds of the Torres Strait with the movement of the heavens, featuring the spellbinding dance of Albert David and Peggy Misi. Also two Australian premieres: the acclaimed Kaha:wi Dance Theatre from Canada, a beautiful modern ballet celebrating the lives of three generations of women accompanied by traditional Iroquoian song and dance, created by Santee Smith, Mohawk choreographer and from Vanuatu, Roi Mata Salyne Namat Rou, an evocative melding of dance with song, that tells the revered and sacred story of Chief Roi Mata who ended a long period of warfare and cannibalism in Vanuatu.

Only Indigenous Australia could produce a comedy about a massacre -- Bindjareb Pinjarra tells the story of the Nyoongar people in 1834 and promises to leave you with a belly ache from all the laughing. Direct from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival comes Black Sheep: Glorious Baastards, a breakneck sketch comical trip through Australia’s stereotypes.

Wagana - Like Lyrebird and Eagle will bring together three leading Blue Mountains Aboriginal artists. Contemporary Indigenous choreographer Jo Clancy, composer Jacinta Tobin and storyteller Graham Davis King have created this new work. There are significant and beautiful Lyrebird and Eagle sites throughout Darug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri country in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area. The artists have been visiting these sites together over the past year and have created this work in direct response to the environment, inspiration and energy drawn from these visits.

Fijian artist and curator Letila Mitchell brings The Pacific to The Dreaming, through a stunning exhibition of carvings and canvases, the Pasifika gallery (one of nine galleries at the festival) is one not to be missed with 25 artists accompanying their works and offering Tapa, flower weaving and body paint workshops.

Acclaimed New Zealand based contemporary artist Michel Tuffery, will also present his works. Michel’s style is a collision of his Samoan, Rarotongan and Tahitian heritage infused with social commentary and everyday life and are held in significant collections around the world.

Around the festival
Listen to readings from Margaret Kremarre Turner's recently published Iwenhe Tyerrtye - What it means to be Aboriginal, or watch her tell a story in the old way - by drawing in the sand, a real Dreaming gem. Take in the Inala Dreaming, an urban contemporary young black troupe that combines hip hop attitude with circus spectacle as they present their processional stilt and clown performances. Enjoy informal, cosy and intimate fireside chats each evening, then take in the Poets Breakfast each morning, while stopping by for great interviews at the Red Couch Monologues. Patrons who are frustrated performers in disguise can finally open themselves up on the mic at the Chalkboard. Catch the very popular Maori traditional healers of Aotearoa, but don't forget to start your day with Amy Corcoran and Samantha Martin (Gidja woman)'s Yoga Circle, stretching your body and reinvigorating your spirit to live didgeridoo accompaniment daily at 8am.

And to truly leave a mark of your presence at the festival, take part in the collaborative mural painting dedicated to Mama Hanua (Mother Earth) which is open to all festival patrons.

Let’s Talk
The Dreaming festival is not just about swaying to the music or losing oneself in a play or learning a new skill. It has a strong focus on communication with a history of impressive speakers. This year will be no exception.

Messages of all kinds will be delivered with humour, hope, compassion, insight, spirit and fervour. It’s a major aspect of what makes The Dreaming such a special event. At the Forums, the spoken word rules whether it’s at a fire circle where yarns are spun way into the night or at one of the many programmed forums where debate is done, or at a stage presentation where a particular speaker tells all about his or her favourite topic. This June weekend will see the topics of education and culture, funding for artists and performers, history and humour, Aboriginal land management, sexuality, publishing, Indigenous languages, stereotypes and youth - all covered.

If it's the wonderful world of words that truly engages you then there’s more than enough to keep anyone stimulated. The Dingo Shed, Nomads Palace and the Little Black Duck are the venues set aside for the more serious discussions. There, patrons will find such people as elders, artists, comedians and performers, documentary film makers, writers and media personalities. Street Warriors Abie and Warwick Wright; Aboriginal media personality Alec Doomage; writer and linguist Barry McDonald Perrule; Pollywood (Polynesian Short Film Festival) curator Craig Fasi; storyteller Joe Harawira; author and respected Eastern Arrernte elder Margaret Kemarre Turner; activists, authors and leaders Michael Quall and Sam Watson; and elected Jinibara spokesperson Uncle Noel Blair. The nearly 30 forums will be held with the participation of no less than seventy presenters.

Artists and lawyers coming together to explore the exploitation of Indigenous culture in both Australia and internationally at Artists In The Black: How do we protect Indigenous Culture?, Legendary Black activist Gary Foley discussing Black History and together with BLAXXXUALITY in the 21st Century - a forum on being gay, straight, bi-sexual, transgender, cross dressing, lesbian and Indigenous, CyberBlaggies and Slam poet champ Oni's Let's Address Cultural PMS make up the top five picks.

Workshops
Saw something interesting or watched a dance that really got your toes tapping? Or just want to be involved? Well The Dreaming festival comprises workshops galore. Everything from Pacific style flower weaving, making i-pod holders the Billum way and Rotuman Tapa Cloth Printing; to learning from one of Canada's leading contemporary choreographers, Santee Smith who draws heavily from her Iroquois heritage who will offer daily master classes in choreography alongside acclaimed actor/director Raoul Trujillo (True Blood, JAG, Apocalypto) or learning the yidaki technique, breathing and lyrical sound language at Derek Nannup's master class; to channeling your inner child and fine tuning your coordination and balance at the Circus Skills Workshop by professional circus trainers; to African dancing and drumming, beat boxing, break dancing and krumping. And do give Traditional Hoop Dance a try and learn to tell stories of eagles, horses, butterflies and more by manipulating up to 5 hoops while you dance.

For those with a somewhat more intellectual penchant however there is only thing -- Haitian slam poetry champion Oni will conduct a workshop. Slam is a contemporary and dynamic spoken word art form which allows us to analyse stereotypes and prejudices portrayed in our society and assess their impact on others.

Most workshops are free although a few do require an Aus$30 fee. Some workshops also require prior bookings to enter due to high demand. For online booking and the full workshop programme visit the official festival web site thedreamingfestival.com

Jarjums Kids Festival
Like most big and comprehensive festivals, The Dreaming's got its very own kiddies version. The Jarjums Kids Festival will include story telling in both English and native languages, traditional games, workshops on hip hop and various other song and dances. The Circus Skills for Beginners workshop by professional circus trainers which is open to children of all ages will no doubt be a big crowd puller.

Accommodation
There is no better way to immerse oneself in the spirit of The Dreaming than to camp on-site for the entirety of the festival. With permanent toilet and shower blocks inclusive of hot water available, getting back to nature is a must-do to truly enjoy all that is unique and special about the festival.

Tents and bedding can be brought along or an erected tent with bed can be rented at the Tent City within the festival grounds. Australia is in the Southern hemisphere and the June nights can be quite cold so being prepared with warm bedding and clothes is advisable. Cars can be parked next to the camp site but should not be driven around the grounds. All tap water at the festival is drinkable; however electricity is not available to patrons unless in a medical emergency.

There are camping facilities available for patrons with a disability and Disability Parking facilities for day patrons.

Getting back to nature is all great, but camping is just not your thing? Hotels and guest houses are available aplenty on the surrounding districts.

How to get there
Located in between the Brisbane Valley and Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland, The Dreaming takes place in a rural valley surrounded by natural bush land with plenty of native wildlife and a superb view of the Glass House Mountains from the hill-top above the festival grounds. The festival is about an hour and a half drive north of Brisbane, or 40 minutes west of Caloundra or an hour south of Noosa.

Getting there via public transport would mean catching a train or bus, or both - take the train to Caboolture and then catch a festival bus to Woodford. For those who don't care much for the bus, one could either cycle to the festivals (it is free to take your bicycle in the train) or take a taxi if you prefer comfort over going green.

If you can't imagine anything but getting there in style, then by all means do fly into Brisbane airport and then pick between train, bus and taxi.

For all those who arrive by car, not only is parking available at the festival site but it is also free.

Miscellaneous
Tickets are available at the festival gate and can be purchased via credit card (MasterCard, Bankcard and Visa credit card) or EFTPOS which is available at Festival Shop and General Store for cash out. However there is no ATM, foreign card or traveller’s cheque facilities available at the festival site.

Five licensed bars will be conducted at the festival and alcohol is not allowed outside the licensed areas. The entire festival site is designated no-smoking excepting certain designated smoking areas.

A fully stocked General Store will be open each day 6am - 11pm.

Recycling is highly encouraged with recycling stations and industrial bins found on all festival streets and camping and parking areas.

Mobile phones generally work at the festival site, but there is a phone available at Infology which can be operated via phone cards purchased at the General Store.

Cyber Deadly, an internet cafe will be available from this year. It will also offer phone charging (bring your own charger) and photo downloading to discs, services.

A medical centre with essential medicines stored on site together with on-site doctors on call round the clock.

As The Dreaming is being held in winter expect the mornings to be crisp and the evenings chilly to very cold. The days can range from a pleasant and sunny 18 degrees to cool with a brisk wind with the possibility of rain or the occasional impressive thunderstorm. So don't forget the wet weather gear.