Adelaide Fringe Festival

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:43): My question is directed to the Minister for the Arts. Minister, would you be able to tell us what events we can look forward to in the 2017 Adelaide Fringe?

The SPEAKER: The cultural attaché.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:43): I know members of the house will believe parliament being back for another year is the most exciting thing to happen in Adelaide, but I can go one better. Tonight, we will see the opening of the Garden of Unearthly Delights before tomorrow's official kick-off of the 2017 Adelaide Fringe. With over 1,100 artists, the 2017 Fringe promises to be bigger and better than before, with a mix of new talents and our old faithfuls pulling together an exciting program. With the mystical unicorn as its mascot, this year's Fringe is encouraging everyone to be whatever you want to be, with a month of arts and cultural activities not just across Adelaide but across the state, and it is not true that the member for Finniss is doing a tribute to Mr Bean.

As well as our regular satellite events, such as the Desert Fringe at Port Augusta and the Salisbury Secret Garden, this year the Fringe is venturing into the Hills with a program at Stirling, and heading further south, hitting the Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre in Mount Gambier. I understand that for one night only, 'Growing up in Glencoe, the confessions of a cow botherer', the member for Mawson will be doing a show in the South-East—get in early, buy up now.

On top of the ticketed shows and events is a wide range of free activities, including night markets at Victoria Square, a free concert series at the garden, the Digital Arcade experience at the State Library and, always poignant, Tindo Utpurndee Kaurna welcome and the sunset ceremony tomorrow night on the front lawns of the Museum. The projections along our cultural boulevard of North Terrace will be back for one weekend only, providing an extra element for families travelling into town for opening night and Saturday night's annual Fringe parade.

This year, we are welcoming the BBC to South Australia as they team up with ABC Adelaide for the Fringe Fling, which will see a special live broadcast from one of our newest Fringe venues and our most iconic landmark, the Adelaide Oval. The show will be broadcast across Adelaide and into Scotland and is part of our Made in Adelaide campaign at the Edinburgh Fringe.

I do need to give special acknowledgement to all the tradies who have seen all four seasons over the last few weeks, from torrential downpours to 42° heat, to bring to life what promises to be an excellent festival vibe across many of our Fringe venues and hubs. Of course, it would be remiss of me not to thank Heather Croall and the team at the Adelaide Fringe for the incredibly hard work that they have put in place to bring this year's Festival to fruition.

I would like to also thank and acknowledge BankSA for their continued support as major sponsor of the Fringe, and this is celebrating a 12-year partnership. I encourage everyone to head to the Adelaide Fringe website and see more of what this year's festival has in store.