Darling Harbour Two Festival in One Day

KOREA CHUSEOK FESTIVAL

Korea Chuseok Festival at Darling Harbour. In South Korea, Chuseok is the country's biggest festival, celebrating the harvest moon and thanksgiving. In Sydney, visitors can sample hand-made rice noodles called japchae, rice sticks in spicy sauce, dumplings, seaweed rolls and kimchi, the pickled fermented cabbage.

Even the live entertainment will have a food theme. Nanta, a Korean performance group that had a successful silent comedy on Broadway, will perform snippets from its hit show three times a day. Cabbage will fly as four Nanta cooks become sidetracked while preparing a wedding banquet and turn pots, chopping boards, knives and each other into percussion instruments.

Other entertainment includes drumming, taekwondo demonstrations and breakdancing (yes, this is true, I'm not joking...) by members of Sydney's Korean community. Children can get their hands dirty with pottery and make paper lanterns that are used to celebrate special occasions such as Buddha's birthday. They can also try a folk game, jegichagi. Jegichagi is a game played with the foot. It's kicking this ball of ribbons into the air and the person who can keep the ribbon in the air the longest wins. A court dance performed with fans by women in colourful hanboks, the traditional dress for women, may inspire some visitors to try the garments on themselves.

The Korean festival looks so pale compared to the Brazilian party right next door.

Since our first Ritmo Brazilian Festival in 2001, the festival has increasingly welcomed more and more people to learn about Brazilian culture through music, dance and food. Brazil’s cultural diversity is a result of the fusion of indigenous, European and African cultures that have been living together for over 500 years.

Ritmo is an event that gives Australians and people from all different backgrounds an opportunity to meet and have a fun day out whilst learning about the Brazilian culture, and maybe learn a new dance move or two! Come and join the nation that introduced Samba to the world for a day filled with live music and dancing.

You can learn the true meaning of the word Ginga with the amazing display of acrobatic movements that are Capoeira, an African-Brazilian style of martial arts. If you have never tried our delicious Feijoada, a traditional Brazilian dish made with black beans, pork and sausages and eaten with rice, this is the perfect chance. Brazilian cuisine is a mixture of exotic ingredients with a hint of passion and there will be an array of foods to be tasted at the Ritmo Festival.

You can also see arts and crafts from all over Brazil. If dancing is not your thing, bring your picnic rug, slather on the sunscreen, sit back, enjoy the show and have a fun day out. It’s on us!