GET ready Taree; our community is about to be inundated by a group of smiling, talented and inspirational children from Africa.
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The African Children's Choir (ACC) have begun their tour of the Mid North Coast, with performances at Camden Haven and Port Macquarie, before making their way to Taree on June 1.
Luke Warden, operational manager at the North Haven Bowling Club, has had a long association with the ACC.
In 2012 Luke was invited to participate in a humanitarian tour to Uganda through the charity he volunteers for - KwaYa Australia.
Luke was one of 50 Australians on the tour. KwaYa took with them more than $100,000 in charity funds and half a tonne of donated clothing to visit orphanages, performed cultural exchange activities with school children in the slums and funded and conducted clean ups. They also conducted musical workshops and performed with the African Children's Choir.
"When we returned to Australia, some members of KwaYa discussed bringing the African Children's Choir's over in 2013 for their first tour of eastern Australia," Luke said. "Initially it was only planned for capital cities, but I convinced organisers that the Mid North Coast should be included in the tour. The purpose of the tour was to raise funds for the ongoing care of choir children, and fund sustainability and self-sufficiency initiatives at ACC's primary boarding school in Uganda.
"Thanks to the generosity of the local community and the success of this tour, in 2015 schools around Australia will have a similar experience getting to know the ACC.
"This year there will be more than 10 schools from Geelong in Victoria through to Southeast Queensland, hosting the choir on tour," Luke said.
"With even more schools involved in performances and workshops, tens of thousands of Australian students will be a part of the 2015 tour."
The ACC will perform on Monday June 1 at Manning Entertainment Centre. The 7.30pm performance will showcase the combined choirs of Taree's St Joseph's Primary School and St Clare's High School. .Tickets are available by calling the MEC's box office on 6592 5466.
A second performance will take place at St Joseph's Primary School Taree on June 2.
Public Workshops are described as a grass roots cultural exchange with the children of The African Children's Choir that will entertain adults and children alike.
This event is all about public participation - learn the songs, the dance moves, and the art of African drumming as the children invite you to share in their story.
To book for this event contact Luke Warden on 0400 777 773 or email Luke at lukewarden@netspace.net.au