Women interact with "Screaming rapture", a light and sound installation by Liam Ryan, Frank Maguire and Jason McDermott during the Vivid Festival in Sydney May 27, 2012. Vivid Sydney, a festival of light, music and ideas, will run until June 11.
Women interact with "Screaming rapture", a light and sound installation by Liam Ryan, Frank Maguire and Jason McDermott during the Vivid Festival in Sydney May 27, 2012. Vivid Sydney, a festival of light, music and ideas, will run until June 11. Reuters/Daniel Munoz

Aug. 4 is considered a day off for the Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM). On its fifth day of celebration, guests will converge for a special picnic lunch to celebrate the chamber’s 25 th year anniversary.

The Australian Festival of Chamber Music on its official website calls this event as the “25th Anniversary Long Table Lunch,” because one long table good for 150 guests will be set up on the lawns overlooking the Coral Sea and Magnetic Island. The luncheon will start at 1:00 p.m. and will be held at The Strand, Picnic Bay Surf Life Saving Club.

For a fee of $200 (AU $275), each person gets to enjoy a scrumptious two-course meal catered by award winning restaurant JAM, paired with fine wines from the festival sponsor Robert Oatley Wines. AFCM gives a picture of a classic picnic lunch for this event.

“Think summer dresses and straw hats, nibbling on an olive when you arrive, basking in the sunshine and admiring the view while listening to delightful music performed by AFCM’s Winterschool artists,” the website states.

In its Aug. 4, 2014 celebration, AFCM did not have a luncheon prepared for guests. Instead, four shows were lined up for its program, which started with the 10:00 a.m. “Concert Conversations with Piers Lane 2.” A trio of events followed including the 1:00 p.m. “Chamber Chat – Playing for Time,” the 5:30 p.m. “Ray Golding Sunset Series - Belgian Chocolates” and the 8:00 p.m. show called “Evening Series – Happy Birthday Pamela Page!” Details to these events can be found on AFCM ’s official website.

However, by Aug. 5, 2014, the celebration was moved to Palm Island for a whole day of cruise trip combined with some relaxing entertainment coming from the performances of the AFCM artists, some invited musicians and from the Palm Island primary school children.

For a fee of $100 (AU$137), guests were treated to lunch upon arriving at the island. A 3:00 p.m. concert also took place on Palm Island with performances coming from the AFCM musicians, from New York based Yousif Sheronick, Brisbane’s Camerata St. John’s and from guitarist William Barton. The Palm Island Voice reports that the concert was held on the stage behind the IKC building.

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