On the weekend I finally made it to White Night, an all night Festival the City of Melbourne has been running the past 4 years. White Night involves light projection art work all around the city, along with sound and live music performances at different locations.
The night begins at 7pm and runs through to sunrise and 7am. I made the journey into the city around midnight with one of my best mates as i’d be told the streets will be less crowded post 12am. Which was true, to an extent. Some of the main Light Show attractions around the city were still drawing a crowd but as we wandered down from the Exhibition building in Carlton through to the south end of the festival at NGV in Southbank, it did get quieter. This may also be in part due to the fact that by the time we reached the NGV it was almost 5am.
We enjoyed circus acts at the Melbourne Museum, an underwater projection in the City Baths (a building I’ve always wanted to go into) and listening to live music at various spots around Swanston street. Eating Schnitz at 2 in the morning was something new for me but being awake since 7am on the Saturday, with the goal of making it to sunrise on Sunday, we needed to refuel. A highlight for me was discovering a healthy dessert for us. Frozen Bananas covered in dark chocolate on popsicle sticks. Keep an eye on the blog, I plan to recreate them in the future.
When we reached the NGV Gardens we were exhausted so we crashed on some bean bags that were at provided for people to sit and relax on. I noticed quite a few people were using the bean bags for beds and were fast asleep, oblivious to all the activity going on around them. It was nice and relaxing just lying there, talking about high points of the night, watching the sky slowly get lighter and watching people wander in and out of the mist and coloured lights that covered the NGV Garden. I’ll admit it was a struggle to keep my eyes open but i was adamant I’d see the sunrise over the Yarra River.
I think what I enjoyed most about the festival was simply wandering around in great company, seeing the city in a new light and the surreal feeling of being out so late, with so many people around just enjoying themselves.
Of course my camera came with me =D
Stephanie's Test Kitchen 