Entertainment
27 August, 2022
Babinda Harvest Festival’s MAGICAL YEAR
IF LAST year’s Babinda Harvest Festival is anything to go by – the 2022 event will bring in a bumper crop of locals and visitors, eager and willing to celebrate the area’s farming history.
The small town on the southern outskirts of the Cairns local government area lost its major employer, the Babinda Sugar Mill, which shut down in 2011 after 94 years of crushing.
But Babinda and its longrunning festival were not demoralised or discouraged by the closure.
Apart from a couple of years of postponements due to unforeseen events including COVID-19, the town has held the Harvest Festival every year for nearly 60 years and this time, organisers are going with a ‘Magical Wonderland’ theme.
Last year, more than 5,500 people went through the gates at Bill Wakeham Park and organisers hope for an even bigger turnout for the upcoming event.
Princess Quest entrants have been selected and preparations are underway for a grand parade, best dressed shop competition, high tea and a return of the north Queensland tractor pull.
High tea afternoon is September 3 and on the evening of Saturday, September 17, sponsors and supporters will attend the Harvest Festival Cabaret at the RSL Memorial Hall, where Princess entrants showcase their public speaking skills before joining the audience in dancing the night away.
“The lead up events are always well attended,” Festival secretary Susan Cooper said.
“The High Tea and Cabaret are a sell-out year after year and we are always looking at expanding numbers, which is fantastic,” Ms Cooper said.
It is an event which, despite Babinda’s small population of around 1,200, brings together a lot of the community in the town and its surrounds.
“The Princess Quest offers the girls the opportunity to form great friendships and come away from the experience with a wealth of personal and professional growth. They devote a lot of time to the community and are an integral part of the fund raising which allows the festival to operate each year.”
This year the main festival day takes place on Saturday October 8. It will start with the tractor pull in the morning and markets all day in Munro St leading up to the Grand Parade at 3pm.
Tractors with many decades of farm service behind them right up to the very newest, latest high-tech machines will be featured at the Festival, both in the pull events and during the grand parade.
“It’s fabulous for the farmers to get together and show the community what these tractors are capable of – both vintage and state of the art.”
At Bill Wakeham Park the tractor pull will continue into the evening along with rides and games, art and craft displays, live music, roving performers, a range of food trucks, a licensed bar, and crowning of the Harvest Festival Queen.
A significant change this year will be the holding of the annual Duck Dash in Babinda Creek, with $4,000 in prizes, after rather than before the main Festival.
“This year we are holding the Duck Dash after the festival on Sunday October 23 and we’re looking forward to showcasing our newly crowned Queen at this event.”
