Head for the hills

THE hills next week will come alive with the sound of music and plenty of colour for the annual Performing And Visual arts in Emerald (PAVE) festival.
The popular week-long event will open on Monday 5 April with a multi-cultural celebration.
It will kickstart the festival from 10am at Emerald Lake Park with a market and several dance performances including an Indian group and belly dancers.
Now in its fifth year, PAVE is organised by an army of volunteers and community groups and aims to build community strength through the arts.
Music will again be a big part of the festival with local acts performing at various cafes around the town.
One of the highlights will be community broadcaster 3MDR’s Women’s Song Night, which will take centre stage at The Gem performing arts centre in Kilvington Drive on Wednesday 7 April.
Emerald’s resident storyteller JJ (John Sheills) will join hills Celtic harpist Cath Connelly for a night of music and tales at the town’s community centre hall from 7.30pm on Thursday 8 April.
GEMCO Theatre Company will also run performance workshops on Saturday 10 April, culminating in a gala performance that night.
For details check out www.pave.org.au