Last year's World Biggest Raindance was an undeniable success. You only need
to check the current dam levels to see the effect!
We established a world record for "Most People Performing a Raindance" in
November last year and the record was officially accepted by Guinness World
Records this year. Want to be a part of something big? This is your chance!
Although the dam levels reached 40% and we, Queenslanders established good water
saving practices, now is definitely not a time for complacence.
The World's Biggest Raindance is a great way to renew our determination to continue
our efforts and show the world how GOOD we are!
Join us as we attempt to break our own world record. The Dance will again be led by
Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dancers. This year, the record attempt will be made at Kids
Big Day Out at Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha. There will be lots of other
events and entry to the Garden is free.
Practice runs at 10:00am and 11:00am
Record Challenge at 12:00pm
Once Registered you can attend one, two or all sessions
Venue:
Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha
Admission fee:
Free
Record participation fee:
$10 pp (children under 6 free)
$15 per family (regardless of number) or a group of 4 (non-family)
Kid's under 6 are free
Pre-registration:
Click here to register
All registered and participants in the record breaking dance will receive a certificate
by email post-event.
What you Get:
Those who participate in a record attempt run (at 12:00) will receive a certificate of participation (one per family or group for group registration). A school with biggest number of participation will be given a prize.
Australia is experiencing one of the worst water crises in its recorded history. In order to overcome this serious water shortage, South East Queenslanders has gone through series of water restrictions.
Despite our great effort and some rain this year, the situation is not easing. This is certainly not the time for complacency.
Aim
The record-establishing "raindance" will symbolise the concerted efforts of water conservation by the residents, businesses and Governments. It will give us an opportunity to celebrate our joint achievement and sense of togetherness created in the community, and to renew our resolve to further play our part in these challenging natural conditions.
Although inherently the driest continent in the world, Australia is not alone in its water concerns. Water is fast becoming very scarce and valuable resource around the world. What we are experiencing will be, if not already is, mirrored by other parts of the world. It is hoped that this event will eventually put Brisbane on the world map as water capital of the world through the visibility of a world-record "raindance".
Our community is made up of many ethnic groups including relatively mainstream European descendants, more recent migrants from Asia and other regions as well as our indigenous Australians. It is important that when we are faced with such fundamental issue as country wide water shortage, we share the same sense of urgency and desire to unite to tackle the issue. It is hoped that the event will bring the all participants together, and embody our shared awareness and hope of overcoming the looming crisis.
In summary, the aims of this event are:
1. To celebrate our achievement in water conservation to date.
2. To renew the resolve to continue our effort.
3. To further bring the people of South East Queensland together for this community issue.
4. To educate people about water conservation and indigenous culture.
5. To raise profile of Brisbane as water capital of the world.
Dance
The raindance performed for this event is the dance & song of the Yuggera people. Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dancers (www.nunukulyuggera.com.au) managed by Eddie Ruska will lead the performance and give dance instruction to the participants immediately before the record attempt. This dance has traditionally performed by the Aboriginal people of South East Queensland and the following is a background story.
Story of Raindance and the Brisbane River Moondagurra - The Rainbow Serpent.
A long time ago Moondagurra was slithering in the dry valleys of Morton Bay in the coast of Brisbane City (Meanjin). Eventually she saw a long dry creek, so, she began to make her journey up there inquisitively. The creek got narrower and Moondagurra got stuck. She began to twist and turn and could see how dry it was and called out to her brothers in the sky, Ngalen (cloud), Moogara (storm),Yaro (Rain), Bumbaburi (lightening). By using their spiritual forces and the large serpent rubbing her body, they split (Kerwali) the creek wider and Yaro-rain came for many months to fill the River so Moondagurra would never hurt her belly again. This river we all know today as the Brisbane River, but to the Yuggera People this is known as MAIWAR. The major water supply for the land of the Yuggera Jagara & Ugarapul People.
The dance will be simply choreographed and can be easily followed by people of all ages and coordination levels.
World Record
This event last year achieved the world record for “Most People Performing A Raindance” and later officially accepted by Guinness World Recordstm. The attempt this year is also officially registered with Guinness. In order to break the world record, people have to perform the raindance simultaneously for a minimum of 5 minutes. It is important that the number of people is accurately counted, so people who participate in the record-attempting-dance will be asked to come inside the marked area through designated entry for us to count. To make the process smooth, we encourage people to pre-register as much as possible (on the day registration will also be accepted). It will take a few months for the record to be verified by Guinness World Recordstm, however, participants of the record attempt run at 12:00 will receive a certificate to prove their participation in this attempt.
Organiser - Rotary Club of Brisbane Planetarium and its beneficiaries
The event is initiated and managed by the Rotary Club of Brisbane Planetarium, a member club of Rotary International. The club is the largest in our district and has been extremely active in the community and conducted many fund raising events. It is planned that the funds raised by this event will be used for the current and future charitable works of the Club including an Aboriginal youth program and a school project in the Solomon Islands.
Background
The record-establishing "raindance" will symbolise the concerted efforts of water conservation by the residents, businesses and Governments. It will give us an opportunity to celebrate our joint achievement and sense of togetherness created in the community, and to renew our resolve to further play our part in these challenging natural conditions.
This event last year achieved the world record for “Most People Performing A Raindance” and later officially accepted by Guinness World Recordstm. The attempt this year is also officially registered with Guinness. In order to break the world record, people have to perform the raindance simultaneously for a minimum of 5 minutes. It is important that the number of people is accurately counted, so people who participate in the record-attempting-dance will be asked to come inside the marked area through designated entry for us to count. To make the process smooth, we encourage people to pre-register as much as possible (on the day registration will also be accepted). It will take a few months for the record to be verified by Guinness World Recordstm, however, participants of the record attempt run at 12:00 will receive a certificate to prove their participation in this attempt.