Maitland Riverlights: a week of light and music

If you are after a family evening plan for the school holidays, Maitland Riverlights is worth keeping on the radar. It is a week-long multicultural festival of light installations, live music, food, dance and interactive experiences along the Maitland riverfront in the Hunter region, not far from Newcastle, and it bills itself as the region's biggest cultural festival, taking in more than 40 to 50 different cultures from around the world.

The main event falls on Saturday 10 October, running from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and it is free to attend. The festival is built around The Levee in central Maitland, a shared zone on High Street between Bourke and Elgin Streets where pedestrians and vehicles share the same space. The program is built on cultural villages representing more than 50 nations and cultures, each with free interactive experiences, food samplings and arts and crafts. You pick up an official Riverlights Cultural Passport and collect a stamp at each village as you go.

Music and performance are spread across several stages. The Riverlights Stage carries local and national bands, the World Stage hosts cultural song and dance, a fashion parade and the Citizenship and Official Ceremony, the Global Cuisine Stage is for cooking tips, the Groove Fusion Stage mixes performances with lessons, and the Language Lounge is for songs, words, greetings, stories and poetry. For food, the Riverlights Eatery fills Dransfield Lane and Bulwer Street with local and regional food trucks and stalls. The whole thing builds to the night, with the Riverlights Community Parade, the lantern flotilla on the Hunter River and a finale on the Riverlights Stage that finishes with fireworks.

There is also a school holiday program running the days before, from Tuesday 6 October to Friday 9 October, which is worth knowing if you cannot make the Saturday. Tuesday opens with make-your-own lantern, Indonesian dance, judo, Aqua Vibes in the pool, a family-friendly Chinese cultural magic show and a hands-on wizardry workshop. Wednesday adds lantern making at Maitland Regional Art Gallery, the art of poi, First Nations stories and crafts at cultural storytime, Chinese mythology with The Tiger's Apprentice, fresh pasta from scratch and a paper embroidery workshop. Thursday brings back lantern making, judo and Aqua Vibes, alongside a West African drum and dance workshop and crafty cinema at East Maitland Library, where The Tiger's Apprentice comes with Chinese-inspired craft activities. Friday rounds it off with more lantern making, Bangladeshi folklore stories, judo or Aqua Vibes, handmade pasta, West African drumming and dance, and a special lantern-making workshop at Maitland Regional Art Gallery aimed at adults.

The festival is presented by The Mutual Bank and made possible with support from the NSW Government through the Multicultural NSW Stronger Together Major Festival Local Council Grant, in association with Maitland City Council. Multicultural NSW is the lead government agency implementing policies and legislation that support diverse communities and multicultural principles in NSW. Maitland City Council acknowledges the Wonnarua People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land within the Maitland Local Government Area and pays respect to all Aboriginal Elders, past, present and future. For any questions, the festival can be reached on 02 4931 2801 or events@maitland.nsw.gov.au.