2 minute read

BIG CHILL FESTIVAL

PERRY HOMES

The Armidale region has something for everyone, offering adventure, cultural experiences, sporting endeavours and academic pursuits. The economy is built around education and agriculture, giving the Armidale region it’s unique character.

Each year the city celebrates the change of seasons with the annual Autumn Festival, and Big Chill Festival. The city is home to the University of New England, which has a significant presence in the region, and has attracted students from across the globe since it’s establishment in 1938, and a major reason for the cosmopolitan and sophisticated feel of the place.

Visitors can enjoy stylish cafes and fine dining at a variety of locations, including the awardwinning, recently renovated art-deco hotel and restaurant, Tattersalls. There are a variety of accommodation options, from historic country homesteads, motels, hotels, bed and breakfasts and self-catering apartments.

Visitors can enjoy the New England Regional Art Museum, home to more than 5,000 works of art including the Howard Hinton and Chandler Coventry Collections. Aboriginal art is showcased in two first-class galleries within the Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place.

Armidale is also home to the New England Conservatorium of Music, a major drawcard for musical talent throughout the region. There is also a vibrant theatre scene where local and interstate acts perform at the Armidale Playhouse and the Hoskins Centre. Sitting atop the New England plateau and surrounded by spectacular waterfalls, awe-inspiring gorges and World Heritage listed national parks, the setting is unique.

The Waterfall Way, stretching from Armidale to the coast, is one of the most scenic drives in Australia, taking you past iconic waterfalls just off the main road where you can relax at one of the viewing platforms and soak up the ambience.

Come up and visit soon!

Grammy award honouree, Songwriters Hall of Fame member, and BBC Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Don McLean will be bringing his American Pie 50th Anniversary Tour to Australia in 2023.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic songs ever, this year McLean will entertain fans across the country, proving that “Bye-bye, Miss American Pie” will forever remain a classic staple in music. He will be supported by one of Australia’s most revered singer/ songwriters, Andrew Farriss. As tragic as the backstory behind the song “American Pie” is with the much too early death of the new rock’n’roll-hope Buddy Holly, the track is also magnificent and legendary. And “American Pie” still goes to heart as soon as originator Don McLean plays this classic at his concerts. Still, it’s worth remembering that the 76-year-old composer has written and sung numerous other melodic and harmonic successes in his decades-long career with “Vincent (Starry Starry Night),” “Castles in the Air,” “And I Love You So,” and “Cryin’,” all of which will be heard along with newer pieces on the upcoming tour. Earlier this year in March, McLean celebrated the 50th Anniversary of ‘Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)” by releasing an intimate performance that was recorded at the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit. The eight-and-ahalf-minute ballad “American Pie” has been making history since its release in 1971. Alongside songs by other icons such as Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Woody Guthrie, and Aretha Franklin, McLean’s composition was also voted “Song of the 20th Century”. Handwritten lyrics to the song were auctioned off for more than $1.2 million in 2015, and the composition was added to the Library Of Congress National Recording Registry two years later. Here, you’ll only find a few selected evergreens, such as “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. So much for the cultural significance of Don McLean and his 1971 stroke of genius!