On the March 5, students from Parklands awoke super early for the dawn service of “mapali” marking the official opening of the Ten Days on the Island festival. At 5.50am we gathered on the beach, barefoot, absorbing the beautiful atmosphere of what was growing into an exciting, empowering cultural experience. Elder Dave Gogh retold the narrative of the palawa people and how they came to be. This was supported by locals, elders, dancers from reflections (including some of our students from Parklands), performers from Slipstream, drummers from local community groups, and artwork produced in collaboration with students from many schools including Parklands and an art company from Melbourne (GAS).

As Dave spoke, the narrative played out before our eyes, with large inflatable sculptures, lanterns and flags diverting our attention to different elements of the story. Fireworks directed our eyes to the sky, before performers and elders including our own Mr Grey lit the fires with the hand-made luwari sticks. Students followed the fire and elders across the beach braving the cold whilst taking in the awesome experience. Clap sticks, made by our students, Mr Cornwall and Chalky, sounded amazing as they echoed across the beach.

mapali was concluded with a welcome to country and a live band that welcomed the day as the sun rose. This was an incredible experience for all and we are so proud of everyone involved. Thank you to Mr Guy Chalky Grey, David Gogh, Nikki Brannigan, Mitchem, Maddie Korn and Morris from GAS for working with us and inviting us to participate in this biannual event.

After a fantastic morning and hard work, we arrived for homegroup after a quick McDonalds breakfast. What a great start to the day.

We hope everyone who attended was as amazed as we were and take the opportunity to attend other events offered as part of this festival or view the amazing artwork displayed at mapali at the Makers Market.

Miss Devlin

Year 8 Coordinator