Tears, laughter, resilience and recipes … the Phillip Island Festival of Stories had it all.
By Julie Statkus
“I COULDN'T imagine doing it and surviving,” said Peter Greste. I couldn't imagine it either. In June 2014, Greste, an investigative journalist, was sentenced to seven years prison in Cairo. He ultimately served 400 days before being deported to Australia.
Greste was the first of many speakers at the Phillip Island Festival of Stories who generously shared their stories of resilience, the strategies they developed to survive and the discovery of their inner strength.
Over a recent cold wet weekend hundreds of people gathered at Berninneit for the festival, and what an incredible weekend it was. A small group of local people with a vision enlisted the support of council, volunteers, donors and supporters to bring their vision to life.
“I COULDN'T imagine doing it and surviving,” said Peter Greste. I couldn't imagine it either. In June 2014, Greste, an investigative journalist, was sentenced to seven years prison in Cairo. He ultimately served 400 days before being deported to Australia.
Greste was the first of many speakers at the Phillip Island Festival of Stories who generously shared their stories of resilience, the strategies they developed to survive and the discovery of their inner strength.
Over a recent cold wet weekend hundreds of people gathered at Berninneit for the festival, and what an incredible weekend it was. A small group of local people with a vision enlisted the support of council, volunteers, donors and supporters to bring their vision to life.
I knew it would be good (as it was). At times the stories told were so moving I could barely breathe or speak. Such as when Michelle Lesh spoke of editing her husband Mark Raphael Baker's memoir A Season of Death following his death, with the support of his publisher Foon Ling Kong.
It was the unexpected moments that surprised me. I did not expect that it would be a local footballer Beau Vernon whose story deeply moved me. It was not only about the serious football accident in 2012 that left him a paraplegic, but also the way he continues to maintain a positive view of life. Beau said that his loves are community, sport and family.
Sport is not one of my passions, so I was also surprised that I enjoyed a hilarious song by Sammy J relaying an unwanted conversation about football initiated by a football enthusiast Uber driver. It appears Sammy J and I share a common lack of knowledge and interest about football.
I didn't expect to get a cauliflower and gnocchi recipe from Alice Zaslavsky. Delicious, by the way. I didn't expect to learn so much about the unusual mating habits of wildlife told by Ann Jones with strong encouragement by the Phillip Island Nature Park’s delightful Paula Wasiak to expand on those stories and to tell a few of her own. Let me just say ... male black swans from Perth ...
Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, and his mum Sia discussed their joint book of Greek recipes A Seat at my Table. Kon, Sia and Jordana Silverstein spoke heart-warmingly about the importance of love in preparing and sharing food, food as an act of resistance and food as a tool for social inclusion. They also spoke of the horror of food being weaponised.
I left the festival with a lot to think about, a few more books to read and feeling inspired to be a better person. Do yourself a favour … book in for the next Festival of Stories.
It was the unexpected moments that surprised me. I did not expect that it would be a local footballer Beau Vernon whose story deeply moved me. It was not only about the serious football accident in 2012 that left him a paraplegic, but also the way he continues to maintain a positive view of life. Beau said that his loves are community, sport and family.
Sport is not one of my passions, so I was also surprised that I enjoyed a hilarious song by Sammy J relaying an unwanted conversation about football initiated by a football enthusiast Uber driver. It appears Sammy J and I share a common lack of knowledge and interest about football.
I didn't expect to get a cauliflower and gnocchi recipe from Alice Zaslavsky. Delicious, by the way. I didn't expect to learn so much about the unusual mating habits of wildlife told by Ann Jones with strong encouragement by the Phillip Island Nature Park’s delightful Paula Wasiak to expand on those stories and to tell a few of her own. Let me just say ... male black swans from Perth ...
Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, and his mum Sia discussed their joint book of Greek recipes A Seat at my Table. Kon, Sia and Jordana Silverstein spoke heart-warmingly about the importance of love in preparing and sharing food, food as an act of resistance and food as a tool for social inclusion. They also spoke of the horror of food being weaponised.
I left the festival with a lot to think about, a few more books to read and feeling inspired to be a better person. Do yourself a favour … book in for the next Festival of Stories.