The celebration of arts and culture is booming in Kiama with the KISS Arts Festival and The Kazador, a mini Speigeltent full of weeks long entertainment, returning this month with the help of Kiama Municipal Council.
KISS Arts Fest will run on the 20th– 22nd of October. The free festival celebrates arts in all forms and invites patrons of all ages to indulge in the lively festivities. The festival includes several activities that the public can indulge in such as raft racing, flying trapeze and lantern making as well as a range of theatre and music performances.
Creative directors of the Kiss Arts Festival and The Kazador, Dave Evans and Tamara Campbell expressed their excitement upon the return of the Kazador and for their preparation for the upcoming KISS Arts festival.
“The Kazador is our (Laughter House Entertainment) mini-Spiegeltent. Last year we did a month-long season of shows in Kiama and to bring to a regional town the kinds of entertainment that they would usually have to travel see,” Ms Campbell said
“People loved it and they were so grateful that we brought theatre, music, comedy and performances.
“It really created a nice sense of community”, she said.
Image: KISS Arts Fest
The Kiama Municipal Council has distributed $40,000 to three community events in 2024 through their new Signature Community Events Fund. The Kazador is a mini Spiegeltent season taking place over four weeks in September and October which will host cultural experiences and events. Laughter House Entertainment has received $20,000 in aims to stimulate the night time economy and create arts events that are accessible to locals.
Laughter House Entertainment, created by Dave Evans and Tamara Campbell, is designed to replicate the European entertainment environment and produce their own work. They started building mini tent theatres and would take them to various festivals and events and program the events taking place in them.
“The ethos of our company, Laughter House Entertainment is we want to introduce people to physical theatre and circus and comedy,” Mr Evans said.
“The funding for the Kazador was very much about doing something for the Kiama municipality, the Kiama council giving that money back to the community.”
“You get to really laugh and there is so much value in that laughing and it creates connection.” Ms Campbell said.
In addition to the Kazador, the Kiama Municipal council has awarded $17,000 to the renowned Kiama Jazz and Blues festival and awarded $3,000 to NEW LIGHT, an emerging artists initiative under their signature community event funding program.
Kiama Municipal Council has announced that the Kazador will receive $20,000 in funding for their mini Spiegeltent theatre shows in 2024.
Feature Image: Broadsheet Sydney
