One of the major annual festivals in Australia that
people flock to is the Cairns Festival which kicks off on the 17th of this
month in Tropical North Queensland Australia.
The Cairns Festival does not happen just by itself – there
are teams of passionate workers, volunteers and sponsors who all do their bit
to ensure the success of the Festival. Over the coming days I intend to feature
some of these hard working people.
I start the ball rolling today with Leslie Sparkes, Manager
of Creative Cairns. Leslie was born in Hawaii
but grew up in Chicago.
In 1990 she left to become a peace corps volunteer in Papua New Guinea in a small village called
Gumine in Chimbu Provence. She
left and went traveling in 1992 through Cairns
on her way to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
India and Nepal arriving
back in the States in 1993.
The travel bug had bitten her by then and Leslie went back
to PNG for another year before traveling for a year with her fiancé (now husband Derek).
They travelled through a number of countries including South America where
they watched the World Cup Rugby and visited the beautiful Kruger National Park.
They continued their travels through Europe and spent time in England with
Derek’s family. They were married in Cook
County courthouse in Chicago, which you have probably seen as this
is where the Blues Brothers played in the film.
They left the States and lived in New
Zealand for a year before coming to Australia. Leslie
remembered how much she liked Cairns from her
first trip to Australia, so
when a job became available in Cairns
they moved there. They have now lived there for 11 years.
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| Leslie Sparkes (front) |
Leslie says that Cairns
is a beautiful place to hike, walk and enjoy food & art markets. She
quite enjoys all of those things, and loves to spend time with her dogs but
they are getting a bit old for hiking now. She enjoyed having chickens as
well, but unfortunately lost them all to snakes this year. (Large amethystine
pythons are pretty good at gobbling up chickens.) Leslie says that “Cairns also has beautiful
beaches, resorts, spas and of course the reef. It is green and lush and
the gardening in Cairns
is more about pulling things out and cutting things back then planting
continuously.”
Because Leslie is originally from the States and her husband
is from England, they have a
never ending stream of house guests and love to show off Cairns and surrounds. “Must see things
to do include a trip to Rusty’s Markets to sample all the foods of the region
and explore the diverse cultures in Cairns”
says Leslie.. They always like bringing people to Josephine Falls
and the Boulders in Babinda for great swimming in crystal clear
waters. They like to take in a show at the Tanks and visit the Botanic
Gardens Visitors Centre and they say that a trip to the reef is a must do.
As Manager of Creative Cairns, Leslies’s work on the Cairns
Festival never ends. The minute one festival finishes she brushes herself
off and relaxes for a few days before jumping into the planning for the next
festival. Cairns Festival is in its 51st year but Council has been
managing it in-house for the last 3 years.
Leslie invites all people living in Australia and
other countries to come to the Cairns Festival and spend some time enjoying all
the other activities the region has to offer. Leslie invites visitors to “Take a
trip up north to the Daintree rainforest and visit Port Douglas to brush hands
with the rich and famous. Enjoy a trip to the tablelands going up in the cablecar
(Skyrail) and down by steam train. A fun thing to try is the regional
food tour to visit locally produced coffee, chocolates, exotic fruits, cheeses,
ice cream, and wines. Cairns
also boasts some beautiful golf courses and everyone enjoys the magnificent
lagoon pool on the esplanade. The beaut thing about Cairns
is that the daytime temperatures in Cairns
are always warm both in the wet and dry seasons.”
Leslie’s job is Manager of Creative Cairns, which includes
all the fun things Council does. The Civic Theatre, Cairns Festival, the Tanks
Arts Centre, Public Art and Heritage, and management of the Creative Partnerships
team all comes under the Creative Cairns banner. She emphasises that she
is part of a team of people helping to make the Cairns Festival the success that
it is. “The festival team has two staff assigned in Council and a whole lot of
others through Creative Cairns contributing to make the festival
shine. They also have lovely contracted staff in media, publicity,
sponsorship, and design.”
This is the 4th festival that Leslie has had the privilege
to work on and she thinks it’s the best yet. “It is wonderful to curate
an event ensuring that all the elements come together and compliment each other
to create a balanced program”, Leslie comments. “I personally also enjoy the
opportunity to work with local artists and arts workers and to offer
professional development opportunities to grow the creative industry.”
Leslie’s personal favourite thing in this years festival is
the introduction of the new Festival
Village on the
Esplanade. “This is like a little festival within a festival with
micro-venues of Moroccan tents and circus tents to create an exciting carnival
vibe. There’s a children's village, comedy, vaudeville, circus
performance, literally something for all ages and all interests. Come and
be entertained with free activities and $5 to $10 acts in the tents.”
For Leslie the most popular events for families have always
been the opening parade and fireworks and Carnival on Collins, which is the
finale event of the festival. “Carnival on Collins is a huge street party
down Collins Avenue
in the Botanic Gardens /Tanks area” she explaines. ”Hundreds of stalls sell
everything from plants to goats to jewellery,-along with free entertainment and
loads of foods from many cultures, This event is a wonderful thing to do on
Fathers Day.”
Any advice for first-time festival goers? Leslies
suggests “My advice for people who are interested in attending Cairns for the Cairns
festival is to check out the website for the events that interest you the
most. Come to Cairns Indigenous Art Fair if you want to see and purchase
indigenous art. Check out the village for crazy wacky entertainment and
chai tea. Go see the ballet or Tap Dogs at the Civic Theatre. Check
out Music Botanica and see Sarah Blasko perform in the beautiful botanic
gardens setting. Watch as art is created in the Jonathon Brilliant
installation at the Visitors Centre. There is just so much to see and do
and Festival falls at the best time of year to enjoy the Cairns weather. Get your tickets early
to avoid disappointment and come up to Cairns
to experience our unique tropical north culture.”
The Cairns Festival 2012 full program is available online on
the website
http://www.cairnsfest.com.au/ and is downloadable as a PDF or a clickbook.
You can check out the latest on the Cairns Festival at the Facebook
site http://www.facebook.com/CairnsFest
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