Revellers ensure Carnivale is a roaring success
Port Douglas
Port Douglas Carnivale has been hailed by organisers as a huge success, with venues and events packed out across the entire weekend.
The parade on Friday night attracted thousands of onlookers who lined the streets to watch a colourful collection of floats inch along Macrossan Street.
Onlookers were craning their necks from balconies and outdoor dining tables as the wonder showed on the faces of many young children poking their heads around the metal barrier fencing on the edge of the circuit.
Port Douglas State School won the Best Overall float at the event.
On Saturday morning, the beach day and pooch party attracted thousands of people to the surf club region of Four Mile Beach, with a spectacular array of kites flying overhead and large rainbow-coloured bubbles flying high from a huge bubble-making machine.
Cooya Beach local Penny Haberfeld’s Afghan hound Lily won best in show and best-dressed dog.
The closed-off street along the beachfront was lined with food trucks and other sideshows while a motley collection of dogs paraded around in front of judges deciding which had the waggiest tail and which looked the most like their owners.
As the day wore on, Savannah Sounds came alive with thousands attending the Saturday show, where country singers such as Max Jackson and the Wolfe Brothers, pop outfit Sheppard and Australia’s answer to Van Morrison, The Black Sorrows, wowed the audience.
Several of the band members said the Rex Smeal Park venue was the most beautiful spot they had ever played.
Other spectacular events on the Saturday included the Sheraton Sunset Session and the Temple of Fire at the Pullman resort.
On Sunday, hundreds gathered in and around the Oaks resort pool for the Poolside Fiesta, which included a live DJ pumping out beats, pool treasure hunts and delicious food from the onsite chefs.
And into the evening, Savannah Sounds once again gathered a big crowd to watch bands, which included Aussie rock legend Glenn Shorrock singing many of his classics, and high-energy Far North Queensland outfit the Roadtrippers pump out an exciting set.
It is estimated the three-day festival attracted more than 10,000 people and injected millions of dollars into the region.
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