2017 Festival Feast of the Senses. Information Pack. 23 March to 28 March 2017

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1 P 2017 Festival Feast of the Senses Information Pack 23 March to 28 March 2017 Photography by members of the Cassowary Coast Camera Club Kirsty Densmore Mob: Festival Manager PO Box 1678, Feast of the Senses Innisfail Qld 4860 web: Find us on Facebook

2 Contents Contents... 2 Event Snapshot Overview... 4 Marketing Activities:... 4 A Change of Format... 4 Showcase Events... 5 Banana Split World Record Attempt... 6 Competitions and Exhibitions P a g e

3 Event Snapshot Started in 2003 by members of the then DPI, The Feast of the Senses is arguably North Queensland s premier Tropical Food Experience. Centred around the town of Innisfail, an hour s drive south of Cairns, the festival headlines our impressive variety of rare and exotic fruits whilst also showcasing our enviable range of other produce including meat, seafoods, herbs, spices and wine. The Festival celebrates a veritable Smorgasbord of Fine Fare. Nowhere else is such a range of produce and culture found, as in this particular region of Tropical North Queensland. The event has grown into a multi-cultural celebration of the local community. What Sets us Apart? Innisfail is the jewel in the crown of Tropical North Queensland. It is situated on the fork of the mighty North and South Johnstone rivers in the lea of Queensland s tallest mountain. The town is arguably the best example of Art Deco Architecture in Australia. It is the centre of the rare and exotic fruit industry of Australia and more varieties are grown here than anywhere else in the country. Agriculture is central to Innisfail s existence with the sugar and banana industries leading the charge. Who Are We? Feast of the Senses Inc. is an independent committee of local community members who are passionate about both the local produce and the region around Innisfail in Tropical North Queensland. The event is now strong enough to contract a Festival Manager who is responsible for all aspects of running the Festival under the guidance of the committee. Our Top 5 Priorities: To continue to hold a sustainable festival each year to coincide with the major harvest of the rare & exotic tropical fruit of the region To promote the rare and exotic produce of the region and its uses to intrastate, interstate & international markets To celebrate all aspects of local culture and cuisine within the local community To highlight the best example in Australia of concentrated art deco architecture that is in the Innisfail township To contribute to the local economy of the region through the festival Our Priority Actions are: The Festival will continue to grow and be recognised as a Destination Event The Festival continues to attract sponsorship, both locally and nationally in recognition of a tangible history To increase media attention on the region of Innisfail to increase visitor and tourist numbers To encourage visitation to the region at the low and shoulder seasons to assist in the economic growth and development of the Innisfail region For the Innisfail Region to continue to be recognised as a significant centre for both rare and exotic produce and art deco architecture and to develop strategies to increase that recognition 3 P a g e

4 2017 Overview The Feast of the Senses is North Queensland s premier Tropical Food Experience. It headlines our impressive variety of rare and exotic fruits whilst also showcasing our enviable range of other produce including meat, seafoods, herbs, spices and wine. The Festival celebrates a veritable smorgasbord of fine fare. Nowhere else is such a range of produce and cultures found as in this particular region of Tropical North Queensland. The target audience for the Feast is not only the local community, but communities throughout Australia and even overseas, with the intent of showcasing the wonders of the Ultra- Tropics. The region boasts a vast array of tropical and exotic fruits which have been collected over the past 30 years from all corners of the tropical world. Mix this together with the many ethnic cultures in the region and the town centre itself which is home to the best collection of Art Deco architecture in Australia. To blend all of this with the wonderful array of local produce is to really experience the Ultra-Tropics in all its glory. In 2017 the Feast of the Senses Festival will celebrate with the theme Gone Bananas, which will reflect one of the two major industries of the region and the Festival s major sponsor for many years. We will see this influence across events in various ways throughout the Festival as a whole. The Feast of the Senses Inc. is a not for profit community organisation that is run by an independent committee of passionate local people who believe in the importance and significance of this event to the community, both economically and socially. Marketing Activities: We are currently awaiting news of our grant application with Tourism and Events Queensland. Following on from the success of our 2016 TV campaign, we are hoping to further develop our reach with another vibrant commercial that will reach a large chunk of Australia. A Change of Format For the first time in 2017 the Festival will be held over one weekend instead of two. This will hopefully bring more visitors to our region generally and our festival in particular. The major showcase events will occur over the weekend, with the Food Trails increasing to four and going out on the week days surrounding the weekend. This will free up Saturday for our Banana Spit World Record Attempt. 4 P a g e

5 Showcase Events for the 2017 Festival will be: Food Trails: Friday 24 March: Saturday 25 March: Sunday 26 March: Following the success of the three food trails in 2015 and 2016, we will run four, possibly five, in These will run on the Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday (23, 24, 27 & 28 March) an extra half day food trail may be run on Saturday 25 March. There will be some new places to visit, plus some staple favourites. These offer the opportunity to visit farms not normally accessible to the public, to speak with and learn about the methods used by local producers. Trails 1 & 2 are sponsored by Hasting NQ and Trans North Bus & Coach International Food Fare This is the Official Launch of the Festival which will be held at Warrina Lakes. An evening of food and entertainment in a relaxed and casual atmosphere. An opportunity to experience different food cultures and exciting entertainment. Banana Split World Record Attempt This will be attended by a Guinness Book of Records judge who will be able to declare the record immediately. Happening on Calendar Park, home of the Innisfail Brothers Leprechauns, the record to be attempted is 8,200 metres. 8,000 tickets will be available for sale at $12 each. Every member of the Cassowary Coast community, plus any visitors are encouraged to participate in this truly community event. See the next page for further details. Market Day Extravaganza Finale of the Festival this event highlights the immense range of rare and exotic fruits, featuring around 100 stalls of local produce, as well as plenty of entertainment including activities and competitions for children, cooking competitions and community entertainment. The Food Court will, as always, be a highlight of the day. 5 P a g e

6 Banana Split World Record Attempt We are committing to the World Record attempt for the world s longest banana split as part of the 2017 Feast of the Senses Festival. We are in communication with the Guinness Book of Records and planning to create the world s longest banana split. This is a record that has been held since 1988 by the town of Selinsgrove in Pennsylvania, USA. We will require strong support from a variety of entities to achieve this. The current record is 4.77 miles long. Our aim will be to achieve 5 miles or 8 kms. That s 8,000 metres!! The logistics are impressive: Approximately 40,000 bananas, 2,000 litres of ice cream, topping and cream lots of cream. And the best news of all nearly all the produce will be local produce! We believe that we can achieve this. The World Record will be attempted the day before Market Day Saturday 25 March 2017, on the Brothers Innisfail football fields. It will be a ticketed event that will involve hopefully 8,000 people. Each person will have a metre of banana split to make, and then eat, after judging. Whilst still in the early planning stages it is at a very positive stage, subject to funding availability. The major threat to this attempt will be the weather. We will not take this threat likely but will assume that we have to deal with such a challenge and plan accordingly. It is in anticipated that there will be only a handful of major sponsors involved in the record attempt and the event will enable us to create quite extensive media coverage. We anticipate some healthy national and international media interest for such a significant record. A project in itself, the framework in which the banana split will be made will be a major art installation. A Melbourne based company, Boxwars, will be instrumental in working with schools, community groups and the general public to create the framework in the weeks leading up to the attempt. 6 P a g e

7 Competitions and Exhibitions to be held in 2017: Cookery Competitions: The format for this competition will almost certainly change in We have not successfully received pre-nominations over the last few years. As a result, on Market Day 2016, we instigated competition from the crowd and this was highly successful, so we will look at working this into the 2017 format. Photography Competition: Times are definitely changing for everyone and that is also true for photographers. Printing is becoming difficult and expensive and not always successful. So in 2017 we will look to our photography competition being digital. This will ensure everyone has the opportunity to enter and access will then be available online to look at the photos through the Feast of the Senses website. We will also arrange for TV s to be strategically placed in Innisfail with a constant slideshow for several weeks prior and over the period of the Festival. Celebrity Cook-Off Competition: The Celebrity Cook-off Competition amongst local identities has increased in popularity over the last few years and hopefully will continue to do so. Held entirely on Market Day, and involving heats with increased challenges for the finals. Bribery and corruption is encouraged and proceeds from this competition go to the winner s choice of charity Sponsor: Innisfail Chamber of Commerce Other competitions: Inevitably there will be other competitions held in the lead up to and during the festival, particularly involving youngsters. There was a highly successful colouring-in competition in 2016 and we expect to repeat that competition in Other competitions will be based around the Gone Bananas theme and will encourage student participation from across the Cassowary Coast. 7 P a g e