Entertainment
16 August, 2025
Art deco celebrated in style
Step back in time as Innisfail honours its heritage architecture with a festival
THE countdown is on for a chance to step back in time at the Innisfail and District Historical Society’s Tropical Art Deco Festival next month.
Tickets are on sale for the popular murder mystery night, high tea, vintage hat and singing workshops, a fancy dress trivia night and many free events will be peppered throughout the week from Sunday, September 14 to Sunday, September 21.
Vintage markets, walking tours of Innisfail’s stunning art deco buildings and the historic cemetery, library presentations on the region’s history and on the art deco style, the Great Gatsby Birthday Picnic – complete with vintage cars, live music and performances, fashions on the field and a doggy deco parade, plus a free screening of Baz Luhrman’s ‘Great Gatsby’ film will ensure a week full of celebration, marking the 100 years of the art deco movement, as well as the centenary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ novel.
The Art Deco Festival also acknowledges the devastation caused by a 1918 cyclone which reportedly left only 12 houses standing in the town. From this, Innisfail became known for its solid reinforced concrete buildings, a rebuild to future proof the town, which embraced the style of the times – art deco.
The name is used to describe the visual style and design elements in architecture, fashion, jewellery, household goods, graphics and art, transport and industrial design, in the years between WWI and WWII. It was born out of the 1925 Paris Exhibition and was synonymous with social change – the women’s vote, Flappers, the Charleston and the jazz boom.
For more information about the festival, the full program, tickets and planning ideas for a week in the region, head to the Innisfail Historical Society’s website at https://bit.ly/47ezGLJ
