Cairns Ecofiesta extravaganza is back this Sunday at Munro Martin Parklands from 10 am to 6 pm, showcasing vibrant, sustainable living ideas and award-winning melodies.
Brace yourselves for some gardening shenanigans and joyous encounters with Gold Logie nominee and celebrity gardener Costa Georgiadis, host of ABC’s Gardening Australia, as he roams around the event, spreading his enthusiasm for all things green. Now in its ninth year, it’s bound to be a bloomin’ good time.
Global award-winning band Formidable Vegetable will headline the event. From a small town in Western Australia to the World stage, Formidable Vegetable is sowing the garden of our minds with the seeds of change for people, plants and the planet. There will be a number of other local groups, including Drum Infinity, Deep North and Koahlition, Featuring Djawarray, a Western Yalanji and Djabugay man from Ngunbay (Kuranda). The festival will include over 50 market stalls in Florence St, focusing on sustainable living solutions and environmentally friendly products.
Mayor Bob Manning said the event is a showcase of sustainable living in the tropics.
“Ecofiesta is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate the natural environment while seeing what sustainable living products and services are available in our community,” Cr Manning said.
We live in one of the most beautiful and amazing parts of the world, with a diverse natural environment and we can all play a part in protecting it
The free event also includes various workshops across two spaces with educational content surrounding climate action and building community resilience – in line with Council’s Climate Strategy. The 2023 event will have focus on First Nations culture and sustainability, including the inaugural Ecofiesta cultural ceremony.
Explore a wide range of workshops taking place in two captivating spaces, where educational content will revolve around climate action and fostering community resilience, aligning perfectly with Council’s Climate Strategy. This event will shine a spotlight on the rich tapestry of First Nations culture and sustainability. The program includes “seed balls with Earth Mumma” and “clay play with Astrid” for the children; and potting workshops with Treeforce and permaculture and backyard food production.
Division 6 Councillor Kristy Vallely said Ecofiesta had become a highlight of the region’s calendar.
“We are expecting about 10,000 people at the festival, which brings together the Cairns community, visitors, families and local businesses with a shared goal of celebrating and protecting our unique environment here in Far North Queensland,” Cr Vallely said.
I love the way it showcases sustainable living; it is the perfect place to get practical advice on how to be more environmentally friendly at home, which is where our efforts to make a difference really start
The ceremony will include a Tri-Nations corroboree, a glimpse into the rich culture of our region’s First Nations people. Corroboree hosts the Yidinydji people of the Cairns region will be joined by their neighbours, the Djabuganydji people from Kuranda and the Gungganydji people from Yarrabah.
Indigenous writer, filmmaker, and musician Victor Steffensen, who came to national attention after the 2019/20 bushfires, will also be at the festival to share his traditional knowledge. Mr Steffensen’s work has been based on the arts and reviving traditional knowledge values, particularly Aboriginal fire management, with Aboriginal communities and non-Indigenous Australians.
Florence Street road closure
Council advises that Florence St, Cairns City, between Sheridan and Grafton streets, will be closed on Sunday, 4 June, from 5 am to 6 pm.
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