City in festival mood
IT has become Queensland's largest community event but Festival Cairns remains firmly grounded in the local community.
Launching this year’s festival yesterday, operations manager Narell Black said it was "a festival of the people"
"You need to love where you live," Ms Black said.
"It really is a tropical paradise that has more strings to its bow than just its natural attractions.
"This really is a special event."
Now in its seventh year as Festival Cairns, the 25-day extravaganza is packed with more than 40 events encompassing art, music, culture, entertainment and sport.
It includes the Cairns Amateurs racing carnival’s 50th anniversary celebrations and favourites such as the Festival of Lights street parade, Carnival on Collins, Food, Wine and All That Jazz and the Queensland Cup
Basketball competition.
A new addition organisers expect to be a big drawcard is the Busking Festival which incorporates an amateur competition and ends with a three-day showcase of five international performers from across the globe.
"The aim of this event is to bring the city streets alive," Ms Black said.
"We hope it will sow the seed to become a real iconic event in the festival.
"Locals and visitors will feast on a program of live entertainment on the Esplanade and in City Place."
Mayor Val Schier officially launched the festival yesterday and described it as a marvellous tribute to the people of the city, from its early beginnings when it was known as Fun in the Sun, the Reef Festival and now Festival Cairns.
"We know how important it is that communities get the opportunity to really come together and celebrate," Ms Schier said.
"It’s a growing economy from those early days.
"We’ve got the reef and rainforest on our doorstep and it’s also an enormous economic boost to this region."
Ms Black said the festival showcased a huge amount of free and family orientated activities, not just high profile ticketed events.
"From kids and families to music and adult entertainment we have the Tanks (Art Centre) to thank for a performing arts feast of some 11 high-calibre events," she said.
The festival ends on September 20.
Share this article
Wow: Caitlin Hodges (left) and Paris Wilson (right and above) turned heads at yesterday's Festival Cairns launch at the Shangri-La Hotel.
New Jetstar flights between Cairns and Osaka
THE re-introduction of Jetstar's four weekly direct services to Osaka in Japan and a doubling of flights to Melbourne from April 1 next year are the first significant announcements today by the airline as the result of a new agreement with Cairns Airport.
Kate earns National Pride Medal
INSPIRING young leader and cancer survivor Kate Smith could hardly believe she won a national Pride of Australia medal last night.
Escapee back in custody
BREAKING NEWS: Police have found a man who escaped from police custody at Ravenshoe on Sunday night.
Woman watched boyfriend bash, strip tourist
THE girlfriend of a man accused of raping and attempting to rape two foreign tourists at a Cairns caravan park says she watched him bash and strip one of them then chase after her.
