Emerge Festival Comes To The Mount Waverley Community Centre Gardens For Five Nights This Winter

Imaginations will run wild at the inaugural EMERGE festival, which will take over the Mount Waverley Community Centre gardens for five nights this winter.

Presented by Monash Council, EMERGE will lift community spirts with evocative lighting and projections, impressive soundscapes and installations as well entertaining roving performers.

As darkness falls, a range of impressive large-scale lanterns created by The Lanternist will illuminate the beautiful gardens and welcome visitors for a nocturnal experience throughout the grounds.

The gardens will be transformed with more than 45 glowing art installations highlighting a range of Australian animals, including a frog, possum, goanna, platypus, echidna and butterflies.

Throughout the night engaging performers will delight crowds with fire, bubbles, UV lighting, glowing body paint, spinning LED Hula Hoops and outrageous roving Mirror-Ball suits.

On opening night, the eight-piece band JAZZ PARTY will warm up the crowds with RnB inspired tunes and the powerhouse circus and dance showcase Fresh! by Fresh Creative Entertainment will blow people's socks off during the closing night festivities.

Monash Mayor Stuart James said EMERGE would bring colour and light to Monash, while supporting artists who lost so much during the pandemic.

"EMERGE is a special free experience where families and our community can come together to explore some amazing light and sound installations during the evening in our magnificent gardens," Cr James said.

"After what has been a challenging two years, we're proud to be supporting our arts and culture community while activating a space not commonly used in our events."

The EMERGE festival was funded through the budget of the cancelled Monash Carols by Candlelight event in 2021.