A weekly re-cap of the events that have made news in Cairns over the past week.

Monday June 29, 2004 132nd Edition

Record numbers tipped for Cairns Show
Cairns Show organisers are predicting a huge turn out for the July Show that will out do last year’s event, which generated $12.5 million for the city. Show manager Garry Ashby told Cairns Chamber of Commerce the three-day event attracted 65,516 people and generated $10.2 million for local business and a further $2.3 million in visitor spending. This year’s show will be held from July 21 – 23 with one of the major highlights to be an exhibition of historical memorabilia and photos of the past century including rare old films from the 1930s. A theatrical and musical spectacle celebrating past shows will also be a new attraction.

Juice firm may reap rewards of grant scheme
Juice shop owners Robert and Megan Moffatt of Cairns have made it to the last 400 out of 5000 applicants in the Australia wide Nescafe Big Break competition which offers amounts of between $5000 and $50,000 to young people who need funding to kick start their careers. Robert 22 and Megan 23, own Zanza Juice Bar on the Cairns Esplanade and said their dream of franchising their business could become a reality if they win the prize money. Mr Moffatt said the business had been running for three months and was looking promising.

Centre to be established for budding entrepreneurs
A new plan to give aspiring Cairns entrepreneurs their own centre to pursue their dreams will soon become available. Over the next three years $600,000 dollars will be poured into the development of a centre catering for companies with genuine commercial potential. The Cairns Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC) is driving the initiative. “Indications from other incubators in Queensland are that there could be facilities for up to 12 companies, however Cairns will be assessed in terms of its own requirements,” CREDC’s Steve Oldham said.

International art comes to Cairns
Artists from around the world are visiting Cairns to share cultural heritage at the Centre of Contemporary Arts (CoCA). KickArts recently launched World and Cultural Heritage in Cairns, which includes the work of 30 international artists and nine from Far North Queensland. “This is a major event for Cairns,” KickArts director Rae O’Connell said. “It is fantastic that so many of the exhibiting artists have travelled from all over the world for this exhibition and for all of them, this is their first trip to Cairns.” Artists from Japan, China, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, France, Canada and the US will be sharing their works, addressing the environmental heritage of their country. The exhibition will run until July 11.