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The White Hat Guide to the Moomba Festival

The Moomba Festival was first held in 1955 and has been a significant part of Melbourne life since then. Like most festivals, it has changed its nature over the years, but most festivals have featured a major parade, stalls and rides and culminated with fireworks. It is held on the Labour Day weekend each year. Labour Day grew out of the Eight Hours Day holiday but you will find little or no reference to that at Moomba.

White Hat believes the naming of the festival to have resulted from a subtle Aboriginal joke on the whitefella organisers, but have never been able to completely verify this

In recent years the Moomba Festival has been renamed the Moomba Waterfest but it will probably take a few years before Melbournians recognise it by the new name. It is claimed to be the largest free community festival in Australia. Through some clever planning it usually coincides with the start of the Formula I Grand Prix festivities, so those in Melbourne for the car race think the fireworks are for the visitors while the locals think they are for the locals.

The official publicity for the 2009 festival reads as follows:

"Take a fresh look at Moomba Waterfest

Melbourne’s popular and free community festival, Moomba Waterfest, has been refreshed in 2009. This year’s event offers more variety for people of all ages, with a bigger focus on music and performance.

Augie March, The Whitlams, James Reyne and Band, The Galvatrons and The Black Sorrows are lined up to play the Coca-Cola Moomba Rhythms stage. Or stop by for Hoodwinked, a hilarious game show featuring comedians such as Akmal, Lehmo, Greg Fleet and Lawrence Mooney, plus circus, sideshows, cultural performances and more.

This year’s Moomba Parade redefines itself as a spectacle of performance, magic, celebration and wonder. Come and welcome Melbourne’s Creature as it makes its way through the city.

All the Moomba favourites remain, including the thrills and spills of the Autobarn Moomba Masters Waterskiing, fire shows, the hilarious Birdman Rally, the family-friendly Children’s Garden presented by Ranger Roo, and carnival rides for all ages. Plus, new to Moomba, the King of Winch land-based wakeboarding events are sure to add much excitement to proceedings.

With sport, culture, art, music, dance, performance, fire shows and more, take a fresh look at Moomba Waterfest from Friday, 6 March to Monday 9 March.

For more information visit http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Whatson/moomba/Pages/Moomba.aspx

Moomba Waterfest
8—10 March 2008
Enquiries: (03) 9658 9658