Community
30 June, 2024
Resilience celebrated
THE environment is hectic at the Machans Beach Community Hall as volunteers run left and right packing up their recovery hub donations to prepare for the return of the Festival of Small Halls to their hall next Tuesday.
It has been a hard year for the Machans Beach community after Cylone Jasper, and as the only Cairns community association that owns their community hall, they have kept their doors open for the community with a recovery hub where people can find essentials, groceries and support.
But after being in survival mode since December of 2023, residents are ready to welcome the return of the Festival of Small Halls on July 2, from 7pm, as they have decided it’s time to get together to celebrate community and resilience.
With live music from local duo Wind and Wood, folk international act from Canada – Quote The Raven – and Western Australia singer Hailey Calvert with catering from Machans Mayhem, it’s set to be a night of celebration in the space that has given the community so much. “Things are not back to normal,” said community association president Letitia Choppy.
“The media is talking about normalcy but we’re still a long way from that. We’ll continue to run our recovery hub, but instead of Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm and Saturday-Sunday 10am to 2pm, we’ll do it in the afternoons 12pm to 3pm and 10am to 12pm.
“Last year was our first Festival of Small Halls and when we hold functions here people want to keep coming back because it’s a beautiful yesteryear hall with great acoustics. Not only people from Cairns, but all-around Australia come and visit.
“This is a great time for the event, we’re still traumatised from the events after Cyclone Jasper and the floodings, so this brings everyone together, it’s a joyful moment, a time of celebrating and sharing joy through music.”
Morag Gane of Wind and Wood said it was time for the community to step up to support Machans Beach.
“Through the Festival of Small Halls we want to try and encourage people to support this community that has supported so many other communities through Jasper and the floods by coming to the festival, buying a ticket, and helping this community to celebrate what it stands for,” she said.
To buy tickets, visit https://bit.ly/3xzoOsw
