White Night

To be honest,  I'm the sort of person who wouldn't really mind if New Year celebrations occurred at 9 pm on New Year's Eve instead of at midnight, and am quite happy for cultural events to take place during normal waking hours.  Hence, I don't think I'll be one of the all-nighters at Melbourne's White Night festival (and here), which runs from 7 pm on Saturday 22 February until 7 am the next morning!   Besides, we're going out for dinner that evening, and the idea of heading into the city afterwards is a bit daunting, even though the trains and trams run all night (that's from the city - you can't catch a train into the city in the early hours, only a nightrider bus). 

The idea of these festivals came, I thought, from cities that indeed have "white nights" (or the "midnight sun"), so the name "White Night" seems a little out of place to me.  Just the same,  I extend all the best to those who will be present at the exhibitions, street performances, concerts and other events. 

All this came home to me when I was in Flinders Lane and noticed temporary lights being erected.    Seems that they are indeed part of the White Night activities - something about an artistic activity known as "Illuminations".












Edit:   After originally posting this item, I saw the report on White Night on 7.30 (see below).  Looks as though it will be impressive (when did they take these pictures?  Were they from last year, or was there a trial?)