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

Monday September, 29 2003 120th Edition

Festival Cairns ends in ‘Paradie of Lights’
Floats, fireworks and performers entertained an enthusiastic 30,000 strong crowd at this year’s ‘Parade of Lights’, marking the end of Festival Cairns festivities at the weekend. The Esplanade was crammed with spectators as the parade made its way along the new waterfront. A record 49 entries in the parade included marching bands, stiltwalkers, rollerbladers, storybook characters, Chinese lion dancers and somersaulting gymnasts. Parade co-ordinator Glenda McAuliffe said the event was a huge success “with no injuries, no gaps and no water.”

Belly dancers mesmerise bad boy of rock
Former lead singer of Cairns band Korupt, Jason “Butch” Butcher, has thrown his support behind the Bad Boys of Rock calendar, raising much needed funds for the Far North Queensland Disabled Support Group. The rocker swapped his bad boy image for that of a genie surrounded by belly dancers on the Cairns Esplanade last week. Five dancers from Alika’s Belly Dancing Academy gave a dazzling performance complete with finger cymbals and bejewelled costumes. The calendar is the work of two Mareeba hairdresses who were prompted to create the calendar after the death of two terminally ill young customers.

Palm Cove fiesta full of spice
Party-goers flocked to Palm Cove in droves last week for the annual Palm Cove Fiesta, attracting record numbers of between 10,000 and 15,000 people. The event was part of Festival Cairns and included a swag of activities such as warbird flyover, boating regatta, surf and water sports and sand castle sculpting competition. Around 700 people dined at corporate tables while thousands took their picnic hampers along to the beach for their own feast Fiesta committee member Bob Shaw said “all the activities were great, but the highlight of the day for me was seeing the whole community socialising.”

More jobs for electrical apprentices
Demand for electricity in Far North Queensland has prompted Ergon Energy to increase its workforce by more than 160 jobs. Ergon is currently looking for 65 apprentices, a record number for the company, with 12 to be employed in the Far North. Ergon Energy’s acting chief executive officer Terry Effeney said 100 field staff would also be employed. “We’ve recently completed a review of our staff needs and with the volume of work we’re planning, we’re going to need this big boost to our workforce,” he said.

Mad Cow an udder delight for Cairns
After a three year wait, the Mad Cow Tavern has finally arrived in Cairns. The tavern, which has been highly successful in Townsville, opened on Friday night. Cairns manager Kieran Jefferies said “We pride ourselves on looking after our customers. There’s no barrier to entry, which is free, and there’s a lot of bar space. It’s been successful for us in Townsville, so we’re sure it will fit well in the Cairns marketplace.” Mad Cow Tavern is located at 25 Spence Street, Cairns.

Mareeba Wetlands shows world wide trend
World renowned environmentalist, author and botanist Professor David Bellamy says he is still optimistic about the future, during the launch of the inaugural FNQ Wildlife Week recently. He said the Mareeba Wetlands were a good example of world-wide trends. “This was an old stockyard completely devoid of anything, then the vision came to flood it and this is now at the cutting edge of what I call the Green Renaissance,” he said. Professor Bellamy said the Tableland had much to offer and good environmental news to tell. “There now is a realisation that our future lies in healthy food, a healthy environment both internally and externally,” he said.