Sarina hosts joint birthday bash

Sarina Field of Dreams is holding a free family festival on Sunday, June 9, to celebrate Queensland Day (the 160^th birthday of Queensland achieving statehood).

The festival will also include the cutting of a cake to mark the first birthday of the new Mackay Region Visitor Information Centre at the parklands.

Cr Karen May, who will open the Festival, encouraged residents to dress in maroon and come down to the Sarina Field of Dreams for a day of family fun from 11am to 2.30pm.

“On July 10, 160 years ago, the ship Clarence sailed into Brisbane, fired a 14-gun salute and announced Queensland had separated from New South Wales,” Cr May said.

“To celebrate, we are putting on live music from Three Way Crossing, plenty of children’s games and activities, market stalls and food stalls,” she said.

Mackay Tourism general manager Tas Webber said the Sarina Field of Dreams Parklands and new Visitor Information Centre had become wonderful assets that provided a great first impression for travellers to the region.

He said the new Visitor Information Centre had succeeded in securing excellent visitation.

“Visitation at our Visitor Information Centres has risen from 10,446 from July 2017 to April 2018 to 12,379 during the same period this year and last year,” Mr Webber said. “And those numbers are expected to grow further once the Mackay ring road is complete,” he said.

The Mackay Region Visitor Information Centre, created by a $1 million refurbishment of the Sarina railway station building, represents the cutting edge in visitor information services.

“The Field of Dreams is such a beautiful area, which combines the Sarina Art and Craft Centre, Sarina Museum and Sarina Art Gallery with Australia’s only miniature sugar mill and distillery, the Sarina Sugar Shed,” Cr May said.

“Add in the picturesque meandering parklands and you have a great attraction to secure a significant percentage of the tourism drive market,” she said.

The Sarina Queensland Day Festival is an initiative of the Sarina Neighbourhood Centre and is funded by council and the State Government Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors.