The city's Storytelling Festival launches itself into the Warrnambool winter with an event to delight and enchant. Guests are welcomed with bespoke cocktails to kick off a convivial, mixer-style social evening, filled with live local music and an array of entertaining treats.
Come and celebrate with us. As well as being the launch event of the 2026 festival, this special evening is a joyful way for us to mark a beautiful new beginning for the festival's brand. Join us as we share a delicious grazing supper from Nook on Hopkins, partake in Plot Twists (our 2026 signature cocktails) and revel in some special guest appearances - including a surprise performance.
DETAILS:
Date: Friday 3 July 2026, 7pm-8.30pm
Location: VIDA, 86 Kepler Street
Price: $25
SPECIAL GUESTS:
Joey Chatfield-Berg
Joey Chatfield-Berg (Gunditjmara & Kirrae Whurrong) is an active member of both the Eastern Maar and Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Groups in the South-West of Victoria. He has worked in tourism, community services, landscape gardening and for Victoria Police and the Dept of Education, but most of his life, has worked in the field of cultural heritage. Joey is a self-taught didjeridoo player, leading performer (singer) in Aboriginal dance groups, artist (painter), artefact maker, and many other creative endeavours associated with culture.
Santilla Chingaipe
Santilla Chingaipe is a filmmaker, historian, and writer whose work explores settler colonialism, slavery, and postcolonial migration in Australia. Her first nonfiction book, Black Convicts: How Slavery Shaped Australia (2024), was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and longlisted for the Cundill History Prize. Santilla is a regular contributor to The Saturday Paper and a columnist for The Monthly. She is based in Melbourne.
Harpistry
This trio of talented multi-instrumentalists take to the strings together as Harpistry, a musical collaboration bringing everything from timeless melodic folk to contemporary covers and stunning originals to the ears and hearts of ready listeners. Comprised of Merran Moir, Sylvie Rogers and Pam Bennett, Harpistry will warm your soul and elevate your musical experience.