Gardens to welcome influx of costumed characters

Expect superheroes, fairy-tale characters, Wiggles, Disney princesses and plenty of picture book heroes.

This year, the ever-popular Mackay Regional Council Libraries’ Book Week Picnic in the Park, usually held in the Civic Precinct, is becoming the Picnic in the Gardens.

Families are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket and kick back in the green space beside the Botanic Gardens Café from 9.30am to 11.30am.

Cr Laurence Bonaventura, who attended the last Book Week celebration as “Ace the Magician”, said it would be a wonderful morning of free activities.

“Ros from Wild Puppets will be roving around with her puppets, and Lets Just Face It will be doing face painting for the entirety of the event,” Cr Bonaventura said.

“Libraries will be running a Baby Bounce session at 10am and a Story Time session at 10.30am,” he said.

He encouraged everyone, parents and grandparents included, to get into the spirit and dress up as their favourite book character.

“Our Libraries team do a fantastic job organising this event and really go all out with their costumes,” he said.

“This year, the team will be ‘beautiful butterflies’ in honour of The Very Hungry Caterpillar author Eric Carle, who passed away in May this year.”

Stalls from local children’s service providers will be set up around the edge of the parkland.

Residents are also invited to check out the Strolling Story, where the pages of the local picture book “Birds Don’t Have Birthdays” appear on picture panels along a pathway in the Botanic Gardens.

For more information, visit the Book Week page on council's website.

About Children’s Book Week

Each year since 1945 the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. During this time schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. Book Week this year runs from August 21 to 27 and the theme is “Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds”.