After another hard year of COVID lockdowns and restrictions, and cancellation of many other outdoor events due to bushfires, wet weather and flooding, the organisers of the three-day KISS Arts Festival are excited to be back in 2022.
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The event, to take place at Black Beach Reserve, Kiama, on Friday, April 22 to Sunday, April 24, was started 10 years ago by Tamara Campbell and her husband Dave Evans to "bring people together" and be entertained by the line-up of street theatre, circus, comedy and musical acts from across the country and around the world.
The pair started the festival soon after they settled in Kiama as their gift to the seaside town.
"We wanted to bring some of the feelings of ownership and pride that little towns in Europe have about the festival their village hosts, so we started small and built it and eventually they started to come," Campbell said.
"We started KISS, but it is because of the support of Kiama that KISS exists.
"This event is truly special and unique. It is accessible, inclusive and fun for all ages."
The pair used to spend part of each year travelling Australia, the UK and Europe to perform. But then COVID hit.
They managed to weather the storm by renting out their former home and moving into a flat above the garage, while Dave took up work as a labourer.
Campbell said it was a hard time to be a performer.
"It was just awful really," she said. "I think the thing is it really just makes you question your whole existence. The whole idea of being 'non-essential' and not being a part of society that was valued.
"Without sounding too 'woe is me' you just felt purposeless."
By the second wave of COVID, being based in regional Kiama meant they could continue longer than their counterparts in Wollongong and Sydney, and Campbell got work doing online projects for some local councils.
But as a performer, the thing she missed most was connecting with an audience.
"The first time I went back on stage in Kiama, and it was just a little show, I was thanking the audience at the end and saying how magical it was to be back and I just started crying," she said.
"[Performing] is such a part of who I am and I really, really missed it."
The beloved festival was moved online in 2020 due to COVID-19, then last year it went ahead, but in a much more condensed, one-day format.
So they are understandably excited that the 2022 festival is not only back, but is set to be the biggest and best yet. After all, said Campbell, "we have got some serious live entertainment deprivation to make up for".
Campbell, who is also the festival's creative director, said as always, there will also be plenty of community participation components of the free festival, which has something for all ages, including performances by bands and international street performers on the main stage, while circus and variety acts will also perform nearby and a sideshow will be set up.
Other highlights include lantern-making workshops, a lantern parade, a fire sculpture and fire show, musicians, stand-up comedy, including performances by children, nonsense trivia, a performance by Tree Top Circus, featuring aerial acts suspended from a tree and the Lighthouse Project.
There will also be plenty of fantastic food and wine.
The adults-only KISS Kabaret will also be back on April 22.
The festival is sponsored by Destination Kiama, Kiama Council, Ray White Kiama, Furniture One Kiama/Picton, and Festivals Australia Funding, as well as other businesses and individuals.
Campbell said KISS was all about creating "shared joy and connection".
"We all need it now more than ever," she said.
"It's about community. It's about about creating connections and that shared joy, and I think it is important for people's mental health to feel that sense of community.
"And to laugh. It is such a cliché, but laughter really is the best medicine."
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Merryn Porter
Journalist with more than 25 years' experience in print and digital media who has covered most news rounds, including health, education, politics (local, state and federal), police and courts, with a special interest in women's and family matters. Highly-skilled interviewer and storyteller.
Journalist with more than 25 years' experience in print and digital media who has covered most news rounds, including health, education, politics (local, state and federal), police and courts, with a special interest in women's and family matters. Highly-skilled interviewer and storyteller.
