ECOSS Festive Market Presents Ngulu Festival

Ngulu is a special event to celebrate First Nations culture and art hosted at Yarra Valley ECOSS.

As well as the regular market with local produce, arts, crafts and food, we have the Official Opening of Aunty Kim Wandin's Bunjil's Nest.

A Taste of Culture- this is an Indigenous kids cooking demo and Kids Workshop with Ganga Giri, a world renowned performer and cultural leader.

And then we have music by three speical First Nations artist:

--> Fred Leone

--> Caryssa Nyalu

--> Madi Colville-Walker

Fred Leone - We are beyond thrilled to announce Fred Leone as our headline act for Ngulu 2022. If you havent heard of FRED LEONE you are are in for a real treat!

Fred Leone is a cultural leader, a true-born artist and one of the Butchulla Songmen with Aboriginal, Tongan and South-Sea Islander roots. One of very few Initiated Aboriginal men in the arts industry, Fred comes from the Garrwa and Butchulla tribes. The Butchulla tribe are the traditional owners of K’gari from Burrum Heads down to Rainbow Beach, Fraser Coast South East Queensland.
Fred’s role as a Songman sees him as one of the custodians of traditional songs and one of a handful of keepers and custodians of their language. Fred is active in his role as a Songman, ensuring that contemporary Butchulla stories are embedded into the collective memory of the tribes oral histories and ceremonies going forward.
As a Songman, his primary instrument is his voice, yet he uses Didgeridoo (Kuluru in Garrwa language), boomerangs (Bargan in Butchulla language), Emu egg (Ngurunj in Butchulla language), tree branches, sand and other objects from K’gari to form his traditional sound pallet.
He has been a touring artist for over a decade, throwing rhymes and traveling with Public Enemy, Dead Prez and People Under The Stairs as well as receiving invites to collaborate and play with contemporary artists such as John Butler, Xavier Rudd, Amanda Palmer, best-selling author, Neil Gaiman and many, many more.
Fred blends his love of hip-hop rhyming and his singularly unique vocal style with his adeptness playing traditional instruments to create an utterly new and unique sound. He’s known for his abilities to transcend genre and form whilst bringing the true integrity of his life’s calling as a Songman to the forefront all that he touches.

Carissa is a Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung singer/songwriter and storyteller living on Boonwurrung country on the Mornington Peninsula.

Carissa expresses her stories through singing in language as well as taking you on a journey to a place where you can feel her deep connection to country and her ancestral roots.