About Us
The Festival
Established in 2014, The York Festival is an annual two-weekend multi arts festival taking place each spring (Djilba and Kambarang in the Noongar six seasons) in the historic town of York, on Ballardong Noongar country. Featuring arts and crafts, theatre, dance, music, storytelling, family workshops and activities and more, The York Festival celebrates community and cultivates creativity.
The Town
The Noongar people are the traditional owners of the south-west of Western Australia and have been for over 45,000 years. The York region was home to the Ballardong Noongar people who inhabited an estimated 27,000 km² of land, extending from the Avon River in the north to the Darling Scarp in the west, including what is now know as York.
The first settlers arrived in the Avon Valley — now part of WA’s Wheatbelt region, which stretches from Jurien Bay in the north to Wagin in the south — in 1831. York was properly established four years later making it WA’s oldest inland town. It’s about 100km (1 hour 20 minutes) east of Perth; Northam and Toodyay lie to the north, Beverley to the east. It’s cool in winter, mild in autumn and early spring, hot and dry in summer.
The Region
The WA Wheatbelt extends across more than 200,000sqkm. It’s heavily reliant on agriculture industries such as wheat and sheep farming, susceptible to salinity and an ever-drying climate yet with almost a third — more than 60,000sqkm — classified as conservation and natural environments. And from classic country towns to local walks and life around “the granites”, there’s plenty to see and explore.
