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What's On?

OzAsia Festival

17/09/2010 (All day) - 02/10/2010 (All day)

Adelaide Festival Centre’s annual OzAsia Festival celebrates the richness and diversity of our Australian and Asian culture and presents works from Australians who identify with an Asian heritage, collaborative work between Australian and Asian artists and a diversity of contemporary and traditional cultural experiences from Asia. It is the only event of its kind in Australia. Each year, the two week event features cross-cultural theatre, dance and music performances, visual arts exhibitions, films, food events, workshops and the Moon Lantern Festival - a free family event on the banks the River Torrens where visitors can enjoy multicultural performances, sample a variety of Asian cuisine and goods at the market stalls, try out different workshops and see the spectacular lantern parade light up Elder Park at dusk. Visitors can immerse themselves in Asian culture at the OzAsia Festival. Full program available from April 2010.

Floriade Night Festival

22/09/2010 (All day) - 26/09/2010 (All day)

NightFest returns to Floriade with style in 2010! Experience an array of live entertainment and great activities set amongst spectacularly lit garden beds. See breathtaking views of the park and our city at night from the top of the giant ferris wheel. Shop for something special at the bustling night markets. Enjoy a cocktail from the stylish Glow Bar or grab a bite to eat from one of the many food and drink outlets onsite. There will also be a special dedicated kids' area and plenty more to enchant visitors of all ages. Keep an eye on the website for further details and ticketing information closer to the event.

American Car Nationals Incorporating Canberra Chrysler Day

26/09/2010 (All day)

The American Car Nationals is a static display of American Classic Cars of yesteryear. The event is held annually at the Queanbeyan Showground on the last Sunday in September. The origin of the American Car Nationals goes back to 1991 when a group of enterprising members of the American Car Club of Australia Inc. had the vision of an annual event where enthusiasts of American cars could meet to discuss their hobby and display their dream machines. In subsequent years the numbers have grown to more than 260 superbly presented American vehicles in 40 judging categories and Canberra Chrysler Day is now a regular and important feature of the Nationals, to include Australian Chryslers. The American Car Club of Australia Inc. has close links with the Shannon's Insurance Group who will again be the major sponsor of the event. Local businesses in the ACT and Queanbeyan have also been most supportive.

Hadaka Matsuri

Type

  • Parade

When

26/02/2010 - 3:00pm - 6:00pm

Where

  • ,

Details

During Hadaka Matsuri bare-bottomed men ensure their good luck by crowding the streets of Inazawa City in the hope of touching a naked man! Since 767 BC the Naked Man, aka Shin-otokoa, has walked this gauntlet to reach the Kounomiya Shrine.

Shinto tradition believes that the Naked Man absorbs all bad luck and evil deeds from the men who touch him - no-one is sure, but the ritual may commemorate the end of a plague, as the Naked Man takes on the ills of the community and is then expelled from it.

It is a great honour to be chosen as the Shin-otokoa. It needs to be - first he must undergo elaborate purification rites by shaving off all the hair on his body.
He then sets off through the streets, besieged by up to 9000 men, all desperate to touch him. He is pummelled, chased, pulled over; he faints, is bruised and must spend an entire day in the thick of a heaving mass of loinclothed bodies while completely naked.
When he finally arrives at his destination, the crowd jostle to grab any available part of his body for an hour or more before he can pay his respects to the Shinto deity of the shrine.
Once he is dressed he is then shooed out of town to rid the town of all evil.

Only the men dressed in loincloths and sandals are allowed to touch the Naked Man and special bodyguards line the route to splash freezing water over them as the Naked Man draws near.
This has the dual purpose of restraining the wild impulses of the loinclothed ones while creating an aura of mystery around the steaming man.