Alice Springs Beanie Festival facts for kids

The Alice Springs Beanie Festival is a super fun event held every year in Alice Springs, Australia. It's also known simply as the Beanie Festival. This four-day festival celebrates all kinds of beanies – those cozy hats you wear on your head! It happens every June at the Araluen Cultural Precinct.

What Happens at the Beanie Festival?

The Beanie Festival is packed with exciting activities. Here are some of the main parts:

Beanie Central

This is a huge market where you can buy beanies! People from all over the world send in their amazing beanie creations. About 6,000 different beanies are shown and sold here each year. You can find all sorts of styles and colors.

National Beanie Exhibition and Competition

Artists can enter their beanies into a special competition. To join, their beanies must be completely original and look artistic. Often, there's a special theme that beanie makers need to follow. These amazing beanies are then displayed at the Araluen Art Centre. Judges pick the best ones for different awards. This exhibition stays open for several weeks after the festival ends.

Beanie Making Workshops

You can also learn how to make your own beanies! These workshops are run with Central Craft, which is a group that supports crafts. You can join drop-in workshops to learn textile skills. Ladies from Pukatja often show how to spin wool by hand. The Tjanpi Desert Weavers also run workshops where you can learn to weave baskets.

The Beanie Festival brings thousands of visitors to Alice Springs every year. It's a great way to see unique art and learn new skills.

How the Festival Started

The Beanie Festival began in 1997. It started much smaller, as a "beanie party." The idea came from Adi Dunlop. She wanted to create a special kind of business called a social enterprise. This means a business that aims to do good for the community, not just make money.

The festival was inspired by the cold desert winters in Central Australia. Beanies were already popular with Aboriginal people in the area. They were making colorful and unique handmade beanies. These beanies were often decorated with seeds, different fibers, and other cool things.

Beanies were also a great choice for a social enterprise. They are light and not too expensive, which makes them perfect for tourists to buy and take home.

• Alice Springs Beanie Festival Website: https://beaniefest.org/