WOMADelaide 2013
- Words by Kelley Sheenan
Founded by musician Peter Gabriel in 1982, WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) is well-known around the globe for bringing together festival-goers in a fusion of cultural, environmental and artistic harmony. “The festivals have always been wonderful and unique occasions and have succeeded in introducing an international audience to many talented artists,” Peter says. “Equally important, the festivals have also allowed many different audiences to gain an insight into cultures other than their own through the enjoyment of music. Music is a universal language, it draws people together and proves, as well as anything, the stupidity of racism.” This year’s Spanish edition of WOMAD is about to kick-off in Caceres, with WOMAD UK happening later this year. If you follow Peppermint on Instagram you may have seen that we were lucky enough to attend the Australian installment of this global festival in sunny Adelaide – WOMADelaide.
Held in the beautiful inner-city Botanical Gardens, the footprint of the festival was foremost on the minds of organisers and punters alike, with many policies put in place to reduce the impact of the four day event. All cups, plates, crockery, serviettes and any items sold in packaging at WOMADelaide were fully biodegradable, and all waste created treated for composting afterwards. Recycling and waste management were also on the agenda, with multiple specialty bins placed around the festival for recycling and biodegradable food waste. WOMADelaide also joined forces with Australia’s largest environmental organisation, Greening Australia to offset carbon emissions through local biodiverse tree plantings. Energy on site was 100% GreenPower certified, there were water-saving technologies in the men’s toilets (so I heard…) and toilet paper was 100% recycled. Dotted around the site were free drinking water stations for punters to refill their drink bottles – something other festivals could sit up and take note from!
And the festival itself? I would happily say that all walks of life were catered for, from picnicking grandparents to excitable teenagers, and especially so this eco-loving gal and her enthusiastic six year old. Market precincts with stalls brimming with handmade, recycled and fair trade goods (many of which made their way home with me), organic food offerings and a healing spot with relaxing massages and natural therapies. And of course the entertainment – dance and instrument workshops, talks from many great environmentalists and activists (including Costa Geordiadis, Ronni Kahn and Simon Bryant talking about food waste and sustainable gardening solutions). A bumper program of world musicians were the drawcard of this unique event – a true fusion of international traditional and contemporary music from far reaching corners of the globe: Algeria, Mali, Sweden, Peru, Serbia and Greece to name just a few. Highlights for me – Soweto Gospel Choir, The Tallest Man On Earth, Antibalas and Salif Keita.
That was when I was allowed to leave the Kidzone. Needless to say the main part of our experience revolved around the Kidzone – it was a hard task extracting said six year old from the area set up to entertain the smallest festival-goers. WOMADelaide certainly does ‘family’ well – there was a high number of kids at the event, and the program for the littlies didn’t disappoint, including bouncy castles, a South Australia Museum tent with fossil explorations, art workshops, and ‘Tangle’ – an interactive experience where the kids weave a giant tangled mess of elastics on a purpose-built frame and proceed to climb and explore and disappear from parent’s sight (ahem). But the highlight according to my son was Boxwars where children were shown each day how to construct and decorate amour, hats, swords and shields from recycled cardboard – resulting in many a pint-sized battle carried out across the festival site by red-faced, sweaty, miniature knights in the sweltering 38 degree heat. The interesting part was fitting this unyielding costume into my carry-on luggage…
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
Hang out with us on Instagram
🌻 The Paddington 🌻
This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
#PeppermintWaratahWrapDress #PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
