Events in Queensland
The Sunshine state sure has more to offer than beaches and surf
There are the annual favourites that draw, deservedly, massive crowds. The State of Origin, The Brisbane Festival (not forgetting The Fringe) and NYE Fireworks are jaw dropping, world class showstoppers to name but a few.
QLD will never say goodbye to its surf and its truly Australian sense of sporting competition like the archetypal Gold Coast leg of the pro surfing tour, the North Queensland Games and the National Surf Lifesaving Championships but there has been a sea change in recent years too. If you need your culture fix or something a little more gentrified then Queensland has stepped up to the mark. There’s the Surfers Paradise Festival with arts and music, The Gold Coast Renaissance Fair or The Gold Coast International film Festival in April rivals that of any other Australian capital. It showcases acclaimed drama, indie-flicks, anime, documentaries and more amid a month-long programme of interactive events, classes and speakers.
From there head north to the seaside town of Noosa for its International Food and Wine Festival or you can sample one of the world’s most celebrated artists in Brisbane at the GoMA’s Cai Guo-Qiang exhibition.
Even the culture seeker can’t forget about the sun and surf however as Opera on the Beach in Coolangatta prooves.
The regional scene is alive and kicking too and you can treat yourself to some true outback hospitality at the Julia Creek Dirt ‘n’ Dust Festival with rodeos, horse racing, gutsy triathletes and nightly outdoor concerts. Get a handle on your heritage at the genuinely impressive Australian Hand-Cane Cutting Championships that honour the outback farmers of the last century or see where it all began for Queensland at the Captain Cook 1770 Festival, commemorating the landing of the famous man and what he started.