Bright new and bold look for Festival Cairns 2009
MEDIA RELEASE Tuesday 7 April 2009
COMMUNITY LEADERS FIRST TO VIEW NEW ‘LOOK’ OF REGION’S
KEY CELEBRATION
What will Festival Cairns look like in 2009? This question was answered this morning when Councillor Val Schier, Mayor of Cairns Regional Council unveiled its new look and brand to a gathering of invited guests spanning representatives of local business and the cultural community.
Mayor Val Schier said today’s event provided a two-fold opportunity. To share Council’s new vision of a reinvigorated, brighter and bolder Festival Cairns and to launch the potential corporate sponsorship opportunities for local businesses; provoking community support of this much loved event.
A stylised sun inspired by the licuala palm of Cairns Regional Council’s logo is the basis for this year’s ‘look’. A bright palette of colour give life and movement to this graphic device while relating to the sensory feel of Festival Cairns and its program spanning culture and the arts.
Taking cue from this year’s theme, “Telling Our Stories”, Festival Cairns’ 16 day program will run from Friday 21 August to Sunday 6 September 2009.
“Our new identity has been chosen to be a fun and fresh representation, symbolising the revitalisation of Festival Cairns and the vibrant new programming our in-house ‘Festival’ team is creating. While at the same time, being respectful to the city’s 47 year event history - dating right back to the original grand parade and Fun In the Sun,” said Councillor Schier.
Also presenting at this morning’s gathering was Festival Cairns Coordinator, Belinda Griffin, who said, “We are delighted to showcase our colourful new ‘look’ and ‘theme’, both of which have evolved from the community engagement we undertook last year as part of the city’s new Regional Cultural Plan. Over 1000 members of the community gave us a good dose of local perspective on their thoughts about many issues, including Festival Cairns – and this reinvention is our response to that feedback,” said Mrs Griffin.
Festival Cairns is Tropical North Queensland’s most significant community celebration encompassing a vibrant and dynamic program of free and ticketed events. For the first time in many years it will be proudly presented and coordinated by its founding organisation, Cairns Regional Council.
The opening of a new Green Island jetty on 26 May, 1962 was established as the first annual Cairns Tourist Festival, and renamed ‘Fun In The Sun’ the following year. Since then it has experienced a number of changes including a re-launch in the early nineties as ‘Reef Festival’ before its most recent incarnation in 2002 as ‘Festival Cairns’.
Ends
For more information:
Belinda Griffin, Festival Cairns Coordinator
T: 07 4044 3593 M: 0407 966 530 E: festival@cairns.qld.gov.au
www.cairns.qld.gov.au
Issued by:
Pip Miller PR
T: 07 4032 4400 M: 0419 681543 E: pip@pipmillerpr.com.au
www.pipmillerpr.com.au