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Get ready for an unforgettable Friday night in Airlie Beach as it transforms into a dazzling spectacle of fireworks and live entertainment, courtesy of Sebel Whitsundays! The Great Barrier Reef Festival kicks off with a bang, inviting you, your family, and your friends to experience an electrifying opening night like no other. At 8:30pm the fireworks will light up the shores casting a mesmerising glow over the Coral Sea – so bring a blanket and get cozy on the beach while the magic begins and w
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The Immerse Art Installations are lighting up the Great Barrier Reef Festival again this year. Scattered across the Airlie Beach foreshore and centered beneath the iconic fig tree, the streets of Airlie will come alive with stories from the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. While the installations are visible by day, the real magic happens at night with pieces illuminated from 6-9 pm. Beginning in 2021 as a modest segment of the festival, this event has grown significantly and now stands as a maj
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On Friday night, watch as hand-crafted lanterns illuminate the town with a vibrant sea of color. Enjoy the sight of children's faces glowing with delight as they pass by. The ever-popular event, is a festival highlight and festival organiser Margie Murphy, emphasised that the Coral Sea Marina Lantern Parade is “one of the signature events.” The Parade departs from the The Garden Bar Bistro at Coral Sea Marina, bringing colour and light along the Bicentennial Boardwalk, past Sorrento’s Restauran
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While the live music is free, you can also book an exclusive VIP area at Point Bar and receive a free cocktail and nibbles with an ocean view.
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The traffic of Airlie Beach Main Street will come to a halt on Saturday, for an action-packed day of colourful community events that will take over the town. Starting with the sound of engines, the Revvin the Reef car show will dazzle spectators, with Hot Rods, Muscle and Classic Cars. Car enthusiasts from all over the region are ready to show off their unique vehicles. Attendees will channel their inner retro enthusiasts, dressing in their finest 50s and 60s attire while enjoying classic tunes
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Long before the Great Barrier Reef Festival was established, the iconic Rotary Club Street Parade had already become a vital part of Whitsunday culture and is now a key element of the festival. There will be fun for all the family showcasing the creativity of the region’s best businesses, schools, community groups and dancers. The parade’s theme this year is ‘Above and Below,’ which is open to interpretation by institutions, but aligns with the festival’s reef theme. Organiser of the Great Barr
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The Great Barrier Reef Festival Art Exhibition returns in 2024, now hosted at the scenic Whitsunday Sailing Club, offering a stunning setting for the featured artworks. Under the theme, "Whitsunday Wonders: Above and Below the Surface," artists are encouraged to explore both the land and sea of the region. Capture the stunning landscapes, skies, and coastal beauty above, or dive into the intricate marine world, highlighting the symbiotic wonders and delicate relationships that characterise the
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Get ready, get set, and go head down to the Ark Energy Family Fun Day, one of the Great Barrier Reef festival’s well-loved events. This jam-packed day filled with free, crazy, fun and exciting demonstrations, games, competitions and entertainment galore on Airlie Beach’s beautiful foreshore with activities and fantastic prizes up for grabs. Donut miss the delicious donut-eating competition that kicks off the day's festive fun! Once your tummies are settled, get ready for thrilling races, excit
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Calling all athletes, wannabe athletes and fun runners to the Coral Coast Fire Magic Mile. This year’s event is once again hosted by the Whitsunday Running Club adding another element of fun to an already exciting day. The event encourages anyone to participate, and the main aim of the day is to have fun! The mile run, originating in England as a gambling distance, has persisted despite track and field's shift to metric measurements in the 1900s. It gained prominence with the quest for the four-
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Ahoy! All aboard for sustainability. Hoist your sails, grab your ores and get ready for the Recyclable Regatta. Set to be a day of environmental fun, full of competition and creativity. The Recyclable Regatta is one of the festival’s favourite events that brings the community together. The rafts, which are created by recyclable materials, including bottles, plastic pipes, crates and more are prepared ahead of the event. While rafts must be made of recyclables, any type of oar or paddle can be us
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Simon Hood Wilmar Manager Grower Marketing We recently completed a roadshow through Wilmar’s four milling regions with senior sugar traders, Peter Bingham and Neil Foo. Peter and Neil work with Wilmar International and travel to Queensland once a year to meet with growers who choose Wilmar to market their GEI sugar. Peter is based in London while Neil is based in Singapore. Their overarching message was for growers to be conscious that we may not see the elevated prices we witnessed in the la
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A comprehensive lung health check is available at no charge for former Queensland mine and quarry workers local to Mackay, when the HEART5 truck returns in August. The service is operated by Heart of Australia in partnership with Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ). The B-double truck is packed full of state-of-the-art medical screening equipment and travels around regional and remote Queensland offering tests that detect mine dust lung diseases. Free checks are available to former Qu
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This Tradies Health Awareness Month (August), optometrists are warning tradies in Mackay to better protect their eyes from injury on the job site. This comes after new research commissioned by Specsavers* reveals three in five (61%) tradies admit they have worn everyday sunglasses in place of protective eyewear on the worksite. With a large number (68%) of tradies witnessing an eye injury or an eye safety hazard while on the job, subbing sunnies for safety eyewear is putting their eye health
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The Greater Whitsunday region is set to experience a significant boost in digital capabilities with the launch of the Greater Digital Skills Program. This region-specific training program is tailored to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in addressing workforce challenges and skills gaps. Greater Whitsunday Alliance (GW3) Chief Executive Officer Ms Kylie Porter said the Greater Digital Skills Program was one of five successful projects to receive round two of Jobs Queensland ‘Grow Y
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Tuesday Night Trivia Every Tuesday night, Laffos Bar & Pizzeria turns into the go-to spot for enjoyable, family-friendly fun with its Free Trivia Night! Starting at 7pm and finishing by 8:30pm, this event promises a great time with three rounds of 10 questions each. The trivia is expertly hosted by the legendary Joel, who has been at the helm for eight years, while the questions are crafted by Dave Peters, a familiar voice from Mackay’s Triple M radio station. For bookings, call 4898 112 no
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Don’t waste another morning on a regular breakfast! Discover the perfect start to your day at Ocean International with their delightful breakfast menu. Open every day from 6am, Oceans Bar & Restaurant offers a refreshing breakfast experience where guests can enjoy the gentle ocean breeze and a relaxing ambiance by the serene pool. Whether it’s a morning meeting over coffee or a family breakfast with the kids playing at the nearby park, Ocean International provides an ideal setting. Take the
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For just $29.90, Fusion 128 offers a delightful lunchtime special featuring a choice of six main meals, plus a complimentary dessert! The options include a selection of delicious dishes featuring mouth-watering Pork Belly, cooked to perfection with your choice of a Creamy Pasta, Pork Belly with vegetables and mash, Pork Belly with chips and corn ribs, Pork Belly with cheese rolls, Pork Belly Ramen, or Pork Belly with Spicy Korean Noodles. Each lunch special comes with a complimentary Crème Br
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There’s a lot happening this weekend that I want to tell you about, and I can tell you now, you will absolutely love it. If you love sport, then this weekend you will have the biggest smile on your face. Harrup Park is coming alive from today until Sunday with the Century Cricket Competition going off. There are stacks of BBL players competing in this one too. Our local Rays team will certainly show the rest of Australia how good we are. Airlie Beach has their Barrier Reef Festival kicking off
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I’m not sure who first said that but I heard it recently from a client who had a property I was selling. The relationship an agent has with sellers is a hugely important one because it is quite a journey we embark on, with plenty of ups and downs that we share and work through along the way. I do feel it is a team effort when working with sellers because that’s what creates the most successful outcomes. There are times that, as the agent, I need the sellers to provide information that I know wil
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Council is providing free buses to Daly Bay Illuminate this year to allow residents to access the showcase Mackay Festival of Arts event with greater ease. For four nights, from Thursday, August 8, to Sunday, August 11, Queens Park will be transformed into a stunning showcase of art, light and creativity. Each night from 6pm to 9pm, Daly Bay Illuminate will explode with bubbles, glow with fun and wonder, and vividly highlight the historic landmarks and natural beauty of Queens Park.
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Friday 2nd August Public Art Walk Tour 4.30pm Hosted by Artspace Mackay Public Art Officer, Jennifer Dalton-Smith, this free city art walk for all ages begins at Artspace Mackay and takes you through the city centre. Bring friends, family members, or come by yourself - wear a hat, comfortable shoes, bring a bottle of water, and arrive promptly to Artspace Mackay as the group will depart on time. This is an all-ages FREE event, but requires booking to secure a spot. Artspace Mackay, 61 Gordon
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Don't miss the Opening Night Gala screening of La Chimera, followed by Italian themed refreshments at 7:00pm, this Friday night at Birch Carroll & Coyle Mt Pleasant Cinemas! Picture this… an enchanting romantic adventure, an ethereal spiritual journey and a ripping heist movie like no other, this captivating new fable of lost love follows a young British archaeologist who gets caught up in an international network dealing in stolen Italian artefacts. Saturday and Sunday will see films from Fr
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Get ready to sweat, smile, and make a difference at the Harpertastic 1km Travelling Burpees Challenge. Returning for its fourth year, this event is set to make an even greater impact in 2024. This annual event, dedicated to raising funds for the Children’s Medical Research Institute, promises to be a major highlight, building on the momentum of last year’s fundraising success. At just two years old, Harper Flynn was diagnosed with two rare gene mutations called CACNA1E and HK1, both of which
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Overview from Mackay Choral Society Life is full of ups and downs, so come and enjoy songs that will leave you feeling on top of the world! There will be something for everyone, as you hear a mixture of music that will have you tapping your feet and singing along. There's a little swing, some classics from movies and musicals and a few pieces that may be new to your ears, but will ring true to your heart. The beautiful harmonies of the choir will be expertly conducted by Nicole Thomson with th
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Last Saturday night's NBL1 North semi-final was one for the record books, as the McDonald's Mackay Stadium saw its biggest-ever home crowd. An impressive 1,200 fans packed into "The Crater" to watch the McDonald's Mackay Meteors secure a thrilling victory over the Southern Districts Spartans with a final score of 100-90. Isaac White led the charge with a stellar performance, scoring 32 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists. Todd Blanchfield also shone, contributing 28 points, 13
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