The organisers of Port Douglas Carnivale are seeking a songwriter who can encapsulate everything about the annual festival into lyrics and tune.

Carnivale’s event manager, Martine Cotton, explained the background to the new ‘Song of Carnivale’ competition, which is open to songwriters around the region.

“We’re seeking an original theme song for Port Douglas Carnivale 2011 (19-29 May), and we want the winning entry to reflect the spirit of Carnivale and include the word ‘Wonderland’ which is the theme for the 2011 Macrossan Street Parade,” she said.

The winning entry will be performed at the launch of this year’s festival program on 2 April at the Sugar Wharf, Port Douglas, and will be used in the 2011 media campaign for Carnivale.

“The winning songwriter will receive prizes including a studio recording of the winning song, a one-on-one professional songwriting workshop and some amazing media opportunities,” said Ms Cotton.

“The song will be featured in all Port Douglas Carnivale’s TV and radio advertising and will be performed live in front of the media at the festival’s launch on April 2nd. Organisers will also invite the winner to take part in the 2011 Street Parade and the Masquerade Gala opening event on May 20th.”

The Song of Carnivale competition is additional and separate to the regular Carnivale program event, The Port Douglas Songwriters Competition, which will proceed as normal.

The contest is open to anyone but will be limited to 20 entrants, so organsiers are asking potential songwriters to complete the online entry form as soon as possible, and to visit the new Song of Carnivale Facebook page.

Last year, local artist Omid Master’s song ‘Everything is OK’ was the Carnivale song, and featured in television and radio commercials and during media opportunities in the campaign leading up to the festival.