Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair 2010

Last weekend we went to Cairns for three nights primarily for the 2010 Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair. It coincided with the annual Cairns Festival and; surprise, surprise, the Cairns Gay Pride. We had lots of art, lots of food and drink, lots of people to meet plus a parade and huge fireworks over the sea to end the weekend.

The Festival has another week to go, but three nights was enough for us. We really enjoyed viewing the art works on display, meeting lots of people connected with the indigenous art world plus seeing performers from both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

It was very hot and (surprisingly) humid, especially on the Friday when it reached 30C. Locals explained that this winter had been very warm with minimum temperatures only touching 16 twice, whereas it ought to be 12. Daytime maximum temperatures have been 2-4 degrees higher than usual too.

The CIAF 2010 was held in The Tanks, a group of five converted WW2 oil tanks. The cavernous cement walls (now covered and lined) made for great exhibition spaces plus a symposium venue on the Saturday. It is situated about 4-5 km from the City centre, beside the botanical gardens. Although there were shuttle buses provided, on the Saturday afternoon, following the symposium, we both walked back past our hotel to The Pier for several well earned beers, before heading back to the room for a shower and change ready for the parade and fireworks. Best beers? At the Drop Zone Bar - great bartender too (he's a Pom!). Cheapest great beer? Blue Sky Brewery, Lake St Cairns. Best seafood? The Raw Prawn, The Esplanade.

Although down here in the South East corner the slump in overseas tourists has been mild, up there in Far North Queensland the drop in (notably Chinese and Japanese) tourists has been significant. The GFC has brought about a decline of something like 40% in overseas tourists. To make matters worse, the healthy Australian dollar has meant more Aussies travelling overseas for holidays rather than staying home and touring.

I really like Cairns. Sadly it is a 2 hour jet flight from Brisbane, let alone 3 hours from Sydney. It is just a bit too far from anywhere, but having said that I met lots of lovely folk who just love living there. Last weekend I realised that I am a Brisbane Boy now, after having moved here from Toowoomba five years ago this month.