North Queensland Festivals 2015 as seen in
history and those of the Europeans so as to truly reflect the diplomatic relationship between the two cultures both in 1770 and today. The festival features a multitude of activities and events for all the family held over the Queen's birthday weekend.
slides, wandering clowns and a special kid’s swing set up by the SES. With a great variety of stalls including arts and crafts, massage, plants, books and second hand clothes, food and drink, raffles and historic displays. Each year, residents also nominate the King and Queen of the Knob. CAIRNS SHOW LOCATION Cairns Showgrounds DATE July 15 - 17 WEB www.cairnsshow.com.au
TANKS CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
KURANDA ROOTS FESTIVAL
DATE/TIME May 10, 9am - 5pm
LOCATION The Billabong DATE June 12-13 WEB www.kurandaroots.com
Following the highly successful inaugural 2014 festival, Sunday May 10 will mark the second Cairns Children’s Festival whereby Tanks Arts Centre will present a dedicated and diverse children’s one day programme, with a thematic focus of "Out of this World". The day will celebrate and support learning, play, curiosity and discovery for children and their families, combined with a market fair day, encouraging local vendors and organisations to participate and present their products. THE ROTARY FNQ FIELD DAYS LOCATION Kerribee Park Rodeo Grounds, Mareeba DATE May 29 - 30 The Rotary FNQ Field Days are a project of the Rotary Clubs of Atherton and Mareeba, with all monies raised donated to charities and community organisations in the Atherton Tablelands area. Held over two days on a bi-annual basis, the awardwinning field days is the largest community event on the Tablelands. THE COOKTOWN DISCOVERY FESTIVAL DATEJune 6 - 8 WEB www.cooktowndiscoveryfestival.com The Cooktown Discovery Festival is an annual event held in Cooktown to celebrate the landing of Lt. James Cook at the Endeavour River in 1770 and his meeting with the local Guugu Yimithirr and Kuku Yalanji people. For 50 years, the people of Cooktown have come together every June to celebrate this historic event by staging a fully costumed re-enactment of Cooks landing and his time spent in this tropical paradise with the local Bama (aboriginal people). The Discovery Festival creates a balance between the indigenous arts, culture and 40
MAY 2015 www.pakmag.com.au
The Kuranda Roots Festival is one of the hidden gems of festivals that seems to host some of the best in Australian local talent. Add to that, the mixture of rainforest, hippy vibes and an entirely relaxed atmosphere and you have yourself the perfect long weekend away. This year for the very first time there will be limited tour and glamping packages available. Visit the website for more information. CAIRNS AIRPORT ADVENTURE FESTIVAL DATE June 7 - 15 Set in one of the world's most iconic tropical locations, the Cairns Airport Adventure Festival features 10 jam-packed days of events for people of all ages and abilities including the Urban Hotel Group Ironman 70.3 Cairns, Coral Coast 5150, RRR Mountain Bike Challenge, Great Barrier Reef Ocean Challenge, Quicksilver Reef Swim -Green Island, The Cairns Post Run for Cairns and McDonalds Ironkids Cairns -a triathlon designed especially for kids! Plus there's plenty of entertainment with a free community concert. The pinnacle event of the festival is 'Cairns Airport Ironman Cairns' a gruelling irondistance triathlon that features a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike leg that travels one of the most scenic coastal roads in Australia towards Port Douglas and a 42.2km run that includes the Cairns Esplanade before finishing in the heart of Cairns. THE FESTIVAL OF THE KNOB LOCATION Yorkey’s Knob Community Centre (Wattle Street) DATE June 13 The Festival of the Knob offers live music and entertainers, jumping castles, giant
The largest Regional Show outside of the EKKA provides three full days of family entertainment. With lots of ways for kids to be involved in the competitions and fun, there is so much to see and do. The PakMag Parenting Hub will also again be available to give parents and guardians the perfect place to take five and feed or change little ones. CAIRNS FESTIVAL LOCATION Various locations DATE August 24 – September 1 WEB www.cairnsfest.com.au The Cairns Festival delivers a vibrant, progressive and collaborative arts festival to engage with the community and recognise the cultural identity and celebrate the distinctive, tropical lifestyle. They strive to produce an annual cultural celebration that means something to the residents of Cairns region, and is available nowhere else on earth. As the region’s major annual creative celebration, brought to you by Cairns Regional Council, the Cairns Festival includes culture, art, theatre, music, photography, performance, drama, dance, the Grand Parade and Fireworks as well as Carnival on Collins. CAIRNS AMATEURS LOCATION Cannon Park Racecourse DATE September 10 - 12 WEB www.cairnsamateurs.org.au The Cairns Amateurs Racing Carnival is four days of fun, fashion, glamour, food and entertainment built around two days of horse racing. What began as a small meeting in 1959, designed to bring city and country together, has expanded over the years to become one of Australia's premier spring horse racing carnivals. More than half a century on, the Cairns Amateurs is complemented by a host of social activities, with something on the calendar for everyone.