Entertainment
24 May, 2025
Inspirational festival was more than just child’s play
LAUGHTER, play and creativity took over Cairns last weekend as thousands of families went to the Cairns Children’s Festival for a jam-packed weekend program of free and ticketed events for the kiddies and those young at heart.
The annual festival has wrapped up successfully with creativity and fun to spare as thousands of children in Cairns and the Far North attended the array of events on offer including exhibitions, plays, installations, art classes and even a quiet disco, which ended up being a roaring success.
Some highlights of the festival included the popular and ever-growing interactive installation Star Weaver Pavilion at the Court House Gallery where children got to explore techniques like crochet, macrame and knot making, the funny and quirky play Ratburger inspired by David Walliams’ best-selling book, the ‘Quiet Riot Roving Disco’ that had children experiencing a silent disco and busting out their favourite moves.
The festival also saw the return of Picnic on the Lawn and its infinite possibilities with activities, live music and interactive games on the Court House Gallery Lawn. This year the free–to–attend program included a fun interactive game for the whole family in ‘Liar Liar’, the best of Disney classic songs by the angelic vocals of Grace Jones, the duo Whistle and Trick and their cheeky antics and live music by the Pierce Brothers.
On Sunday all the fun was at the Tanks and the Botanic Gardens. The kids got to experiment and make their imaginations’ wildest dreams come through with the LEGO Brick Mania sessions where LEGO master Damian Hinds created a masterpiece in front of the children and two creating stations with The Hairy Place and Catch a Butterfly where kids could create quirky and hairy characters or craft their own butterfly with recyclable materials to create home.
All events were extremely well attended, wrapping up another successful year of helping the imaginations and minds of the youngest in our community to fly free through play.
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said it was always a joyful occasion seeing the children of Cairns take their creativity to new levels, have fun and learn in a friendly and open community environment.
