As we approach the 23rd year of the Port Douglas Carnivale, the organising structure is about to take a massive U turn, which is hoped to be a positive step in its evolution.

In recent memory we have been used to the Carnivale running on two successive weekends over 10 days of events and festivities.  This has always divided the town with equal sided camps championing both keeping it at the 10 days or taking it back to just one weekend. 

It seems for the moment the, ‘one weekend brigade,’ have won the day and Carnivale 2016 will run over just one weekend from 20th to 22nd May 2016. Certainly this means the community will be split between relief to make the Carnivale more affordable and concern that a shorter Carnivale may be a sign that The much loved Carnivale is on a slippery slop towards extinction. 

It’s interesting therefore to learn that back in 1994 the inaugural Carnivale was played out over only 7 days and the following year immediately fell back to just one weekend before growing again in its third year to showcase a calendar of events that closely resembled more the modern Carnivale.

The first Carnivale was originally going to be based around a yacht race but the winds were found to be in the wrong direction so the organisers were left with two options.  Fortunately they chose the positive one and decided to press on with the festival and introduced one event a day over the 7 days. 

The original seven events included a Rodeo at Wetherby Station, an Art Show at the Habitat, The Macrossan Street Parade, The Family Fun Day at the Marina including the waiters race and The Saturday night Food and Wine and a Taste of Port organised by Mick McLean, Christian Heidenreich and Louis Garazzo, which showcased all the restaurants and wine suppliers of the region and was  held opposite the Clink Theatre (pre Community Hall construction). And despite appalling weather great fun was apparently had by all to such a degree that they couldn’t wait to do it all again the following year.

The family fun day quickly grew too big for the Marina and the Family Beach Day on Four Mile Beach was born and developed into the fantastic fun day it is today.

The Seafood Extravaganza didn’t make an appearance until Year 3 and The Longest Lunch along the Marina boardwalk wasn’t actually a Carnivale event until into the 2000s but nevertheless the original events seemed to strike a chord with the locals and the modern day Carnivale began its journey. 

So history demonstrates that we don’t need to worry about the life or length of the Carnivale.  Taking it back to one weekend may well be just the respite it needs to regroup and rejuvenate itself for a second coming!!

We haven’t yet heard from the Council and the new management team, whoever they may be, about the event calendar but based on experience it would be surprising if it weren’t The Longest Lunch and The Macrossan Street Parade on the Friday, with the Family Beach Day (hopefully including the Yabusame Japanese horse archery) on the Saturday and the Seafood Extravaganza to bring the whole show to a close on the Sunday.

The Saturday evening needs some work and some fresh ideas.  It needs to be brought into the 21st Century with a new experience to recreate and capitalise on the traditional enthusiasm of the local and regional audience who have made this evening such a success in the past.  That audience is still around, it just hasn’t been satisfied with recent offerings and has not shown itself in any great numbers.  But it would if the Carnivale delivered some fresh ideas.  It may need to go more towards a concert and less towards the food and wine contribution to keep up with modern trends. 

The key to any Carnivale, no matter how many days it’s run over, is community support.  Over the nearly quarter century of its existence, the Carnivale has drawn crowds from around the world from interstate, intrastate and regionally. The difficulty with marketing a series of events like this is the huge amount of money you need to spread the word and cover the vast geographic target audience.  Thousands of dollars have been spent attracting visitors from all around the world but 2016 is not going to be able to put the strategy for global visitors into place because there just isn’t the money available in the revamped budget.

2016 will need every ounce of local support and word of mouth marketing that it can lay its hands on because advertising costs just can’t be covered from the funds available.  But the accommodation houses, hotels, resorts and local residents can get the job done via their massive networks of past guests, clients and families and friends.

With the Carnivale moving to one weekend, it gives the other events that have been included under its umbrella the opportunity to transfer to another time of the year and start to fill in some of the gaps that would create a twelve month calendar of events to support all the other tours and activities that this beautiful piece of paradise has to offer.

The Great Barrier Reef and the ancient Daintree River and Rainforest and indisputable attractions to the area.  The warmth of the locals helps to positively contribute towards our visitors’ enjoyment during their stays with us but now we have the opportunity to devise and design a 12 month calendar that compliments and supports and, in some cases, creates a reason to come to Port Douglas and its surrounding hinterland.  And all because the carnival 2016 is going to be given a chance to breath.

It’ll be an interesting time.

We should all offer our support and enthusiasm to both the Council and the new Carnivale managers to ensure this global icon keeps its momentum going and continues to help the Douglas Shire have another good year.