The KISS Arts Festival has been missing from the foreshore of Kiama Harbour for nearly two years but will finally be reincarnated this Saturday in a condensed format.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A mix of circus, comedy, magic, music, burlesque and cabaret will be spread over the afternoon in two shows - one for families and another more risque event for adults at The Pavilion.
"As much as we desperately wanted to do the whole thing, the risk - as we saw with Byron Bay Blues Festival [which was cancelled the day before due to a COVID scare] - and us feeling so emotionally and mentally worn down by the year meant we didn't feel it was worth the risk," co-founder Tamara Campbell said.
"We decided to do a mini-KISS to still mark the fact it exists."
We had luckily built ... an apartment over our garage to be an office, so we then AirBnB'd our house and would move into our apartment every weekend.
- Tamara Campbell
Ms Campbell and her husband Dave Evans have been running the festival since 2012, attracting thousands to Kiama each year. The entertainers also spend their time touring Australia, the UK and Europe each year for their own performances.
The last 12 months took a toll on the pair (like many in the arts and entertainment industry), which saw them AirBnB their Kiama home to help stay afloat, while taking KISS Arts Festival virtual.
"We did a few other things online, it was kind of a fairly reactionary thing, like 'oh my God, how do we keep doing what we love'?" Ms Campbell said.
"We were actually okay because we had a company and we were able to get JobKeeper and we had luckily built ... an apartment over our garage to be an office, so we then AirBnB'd our house and would move into our apartment every weekend."
Currently Mr Evans is working in the Southern Highlands setting up a new whiskey distillery, but the pair will be back causing havoc and laughter with more comedic performances later in the year.
"Our company Laughter House is now starting to raise its head again with work coming - it's small stuff but I've quoted for bigger stuff later in the year," Ms Campbell said.
"So the future looks a little bit bright but you still need to be a little bit cautious and that was how we felt about KISS this year."
Previously the multi-day festival was largely free for the public, but as the format has changed to a sit-down event due to COVID-19 restrictions, organisers have had to charge a small ticket fee.
Artists on the lineup include acrobats, breakdancers, an accordion player, a hula hoop dancer extraordinaire, and The Pitts Family Circus to name a few.
For more details visit: www.facebook.com/KISSArtsFestival
The KISS Arts Fest family-friendly event is 2pm Saturday May 1, the adults only cabaret is at 7pm - both at The Pavilion on Bong Bong Street.