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.Folklorama: our entertainment

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Folklorama: Entertainment Programs

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Year	Entertainers	Program	Origin
1993	Australis		Australia
1994	Australis		Australia
1997	Up From Down Under	Introduction – Cross the Nullabor, Man From Snowy River, G’Day G’Day Indigenous Performances – Didgeridoo (Gerry Gordon), Haka Greetings by Ambassadors and launch of the Australia/New Zealand Pavilion Early Songs – Botany Bay, Along the Road to Gundagai, Ballad of the Waitaki, South Island Country, I’ve Been Everywhere Children’s Segment – The Vegemite Song, Out the Back, Boomerang Solo Song – True Blue (Jenny Gates) Campfire Segment – Home Among the Gumtrees, Good Australian Beer, Rugby, Racing and Beer, My Old Man’s an All-Black, Duncan Contemporary Songs – Six Months in a Leaky Boat, Land Down Under Folk Songs – Pokarekare Ana, Waltzing Matilda Close – We are Australians, We are New Zealanders	Australia
2000	Tal-kin-jeri and Up From Down Under	Introduction – Didgeridoo (Gerry Gordon), entry by Tal-Kin-Jeri, Haka Greetings by Ambassadors, launch of the New Zealand/Australia Pavilion Official announcements and welcomes Down Under Kids – Vegemite Song, Boomerang Song Singalong – Home Among the Gumtrees, G’Day, G’Day, Pokarekare Ana, Waltzing Matilda, Land Down Under, South Island Country, Old Man Emu, Duncan Aboriginal Performance – Tal-Kin-Jeri Closing – Aeroplane Jelly, Sorbent, Care for Kids, Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport Finale – We are New Zealanders, We are Australians	Australia
2001	Kahurangi Rangatahi and Up From Down Under	Introduction – Didgeridoo (Gerry Gordon), entry by Kahurangi Rangatahi, Haka Welcome Greetings by our Ambassadors and Launch of the New Zealand/Australia Pavilion Official announcements and welcomes Down Under Kids – Vegemite Song, Didgeri Didgeri Didgeridoo, Boomerang Song Singalong – Home Among the Gumtrees, G’Day, G’Day, Pokarekare Ana, Waltzing Matilda, Land Down Under, South Island Country, Old Man Emu, Duncan Maori Performance – Kahurangi Rangatahi Closing – Gathering and farewells Finale – Now Is The Hour	New Zealand and Australia

Folklorama: Entertainment Participants

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UP FROM DOWN UNDER

The original Winnipeg music group was transformed into a bush band and learned all the songs for the program from scratch. Their enthusiasm and input resulted in a terrific week for everyone involved in the pavilion. Consisting of four members (Jay Taylor, Bill Spornitz, John Hudson and Kevin Cockle, with special guests Jenny Gates and Gerry Gordon), ‘Up From Down Under’ contributed their talent, vocals and harmonies, energy and humour to each performance, and encouraged their friends and families to come along during the week. They also posed for photos and generally got right into the spirit of the event. Jay, Bill, John and Kevin have since retired from the group and returned to their ‘new age music’ roots, leaving Jenny and Gerry to continue as a duo.

Up From Down Under is now a duo based in Winnipeg that specialises in original, traditional and contemporary Aussie music for Canadian folk. First appearing at the Down Under Pavilion at the 1997 Folklorama festival, Up From Down Under has performed at events ever since. The duo has appeared at several festivals (Swan River Folk Fest, Gathering of Nations, Folklorama), performed at a number of Winnipeg schools and children’s venues, and is constantly expanding their repertoire to appeal to a wider audience and to suit a greater range of performance opportunities.

Jenny Gates on keyboard, guitar and vocals complements Gerry Gordon on didgeridoo, performing a variety of music that ranges from traditional to contemporary. They have a wide repertoire of children’s music, bush music, and original songs.

Up From Down Under is available for schools, festivals, parties and other functions. You can contact them by phoning Jenny at (204) 228-9959 or by e-mail: words@jennygates.com; info@downunderclub.mb.ca

Jenny was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, where she worked as a keyboard vocalist in bands and as a solo artist for 16 years. Moving to Winnipeg in 1994, she took some time out from the music side of things to explore and experience life in Canada. After joining up with Gerry, she reconnected with her Australian music roots and formed the duo, Up From Down Under. A writer, editor and public speaker by trade, Jenny also uses slide shows, stories and artefacts to entertain Canadians and inform them about life down.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Gerry has been playing the didgeridoo since 1996. He became interested in the didgeridoo after hearing it played in Tuscon, Arizona, and now has 12 didgeridoos, including 4 from down under. Gerry is so accomplished as a didgeridoo player that in 2000 he was invited to perform with an Australian aboriginal dance group from Adelaide, Australia – a great honour indeed. A gemmologist by trade, Gerry can often be seen busking at street festivals and special events, and enjoys performing at parties, airport welcomes for folks from down under, and festivals throughout Manitoba.

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TAL-KIN-JERI

Tal-kin-jeri is an Australian aboriginal dance group from Adelaide, South Australia. The director of the group is Major Sumner, a Ngarrindjeri of Australia whose clan is Tal-kin-jeri. The area of land within the Ngarrindjeri nation is called Dupung and this is where Major’s clan group people originated. The dance group is made up of different ages, and members of the group are dancers, musicians, painters, basket weavers and narrators.

The Tal-kin-jeri Dance Group mainly consists of people from the Ngarrindjeri clan of the Lower Lakes and Coorong area of South Australia. They perform dances that are culturally appropriate to their clan group, and these dances include different Dreamtime stories.

During their performance, they talk about the dances and the stories behind these stories, and explain each dance and its importance. They also talk about the leaves, boomerangs, different types of music sticks, kanakes (clubs) and kaike (reed spear).

Their dances include:

• Entrance Dance – a walk-in dance where all the dancers come on to the area on which they will perform
• Blessing Dance – performed before any other performances take place, is done by women, and is asking the spirits and the ancestors of this land the dancers are on for permission to dance. It is also to bless the ground
• Welcome Dance – to welcome different clan groups into the county or to recognise the original owners of the area in which they perform
• Creation Dance – a dance about Ngurunderi, the Creator of the Ngarrindjeri people, and the creation of the birds and animals in their clan country
• Emu Dance, Seagull Dance, Pelican Dance, Brolga Dance – dances to imitate some of the totems
• Berry Picking Dance – tells how families get together to pick and gather during the months when all the fruit and berries are ripe

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KAHURANGI RANGATAHI

This Maori cultural performing group heralds from Te Atatu in the North Island of New Zealand. Part of a larger group of up to 30 members, the 13 members of Kahurangi who visited Winnipeg for Folklorama in 2001 ranged in age from 9 to 15. All attended school and performed in the group outside school hours.

The Folklorama lineup have performed extensively in New Zealand, including competitions in which they placed in the top three.

Some members of this group were part of a cultural exchange and educational tour in Winnipeg in 2000. During their visit, they were interviewed by and featured on several media. They also met with members of the Ojibway First Nations, performed in nine schools, met the newly elected Grand Chief of the First Nations, and performed before world leaders at the War Torn Children of the World conference.

Kahurangi raised all their own money to come and perform at the Folklorama Festival. Their enthusiasm shone through in every performance and earned them a total of 25 standing ovations. They celebrated by spending a few days in Disneyland on the way home.

Kahurangi Rangatahi was sponsored by the Kahurangi No Te Atatu Charitable Trust, which was established in April 1999 by founder member Joseph Timoti. The Trust was a community-based organization focused mainly on the needs of Maori youth, but also embraced and welcomed the youth of all other ethnic races who chose to participate.

One of the main objectives of the Trust is to build a solid foundation to provide a safe and healthy environment for the tamariki (children) and Whanau (families) to develop, promote and express indigenous values (being Maori) with those of the wider community, regionally, nationally and internationally, by means of Kapahaka (cultural performances) as its vehicle.

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