Entertainment
26 June, 2026
It’ll be like a bat out of hell
THE Cairns Bat Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this weekend while raising awareness of the challenges facing Far North Queensland’s bat populations.
Hosted by the Bats and Trees Society of Cairns, the annual event will be held at Wharf One from 4pm to 7pm on Sunday 28 June.
President Maree Treadwell Kerr said the festival was designed to educate the community about the important role bats play in the environment while dispelling common misconceptions.
“There are still many misunderstandings about bats,” she said.
“We hope people leave with a better understanding of bats and how to live with them.”
The festival will feature craft activities for children, performances by the Cairns Youth Circus, stilt walkers dressed as bats and live music from local performer Frank Ridge.
Mulgrave MP Terry James will attend as a representative of the Minister for the Environment.
Attendees are also encouraged to dress as bats, with prizes to be awarded for the best costumes.
Ms Treadwell Kerr said bats played a critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystems through pollination, seed dispersal and insect control.
“They’re essential for both native forests and agricultural areas,” she said.
The event will also highlight the plight of the endangered spectacled flying fox, which has experienced a dramatic population decline across northern Queensland. “The spectacled flying fox population has declined by over 75% in the last 15 years due to cyclones, droughts and heat stress events,” Ms Treadwell Kerr said.
According to Ms Treadwell Kerr a major heat-stress event in 2018 resulted in the deaths of about 23,000 flying foxes, underscoring the threats facing the species.
Funds raised during the festival will support bat wildlife care, with volunteers caring for more than 200 bats each year without government funding.
Ms Treadwell Kerr said the society hoped the festival would encourage greater understanding of bats and their place in the local environment.
“Bats are not a threat and can be safely coexisted with,” she said.
The free community event is open to the public.
