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: Macrossan Street Parade, icon event for Port Douglas Carnivale

Votes:		131
Comments:		19

Have your say !

annetta , 27-06-10 12:17:

With so many excellent events, there is no way it could fit into only 4 days. In my opinion,this years carnivale had the most variety of events, and it would be a shame to loose any of the events that we have all grown to love over the years of the 10 day festival.

Frank , 24-06-10 16:57:

Despite the wonderful great efforts of locals creating this event I am in favor of a shorter version as
a) compared to other festivals our selection of events isn't that interesting
b) from local business p(other than pubs and super markets) point of view one long week-end would be more effective and sufficient
c) From private budget view as well

Tony , 23-06-10 19:15:

As a tourist event it is excellent but not many locals would have the money to attend many events. So the cost has taken it away from most locals. The event is very PD oriented. As a periphery attraction, we don't see any extra tourists during the Carnivale.

However, we would love to attend more events but can't afford it.

Mick @+Rita Mccall, 23-06-10 16:40:

Rita and myself think 10 days are to many and would suggest that you start with a bang on Sun,then have events all during the week then the last final fling on the folling Sun..Gives all the travellers time to look at everthing ,eat everywhere,try new things then relax for the second week of there holidays...Only reason i say this is money only goes so far and with kids letting the do what they love (swimming).......

alex mateer, 23-06-10 13:23:

I think 4 days is much better because of all the reasons mentioned by others. It focuses it all to one big party.... if its too long it sort of peters out. We always enjoy carnivale, but we only go to a couple of events.

Holly Whittenbury, 23-06-10 12:11:

I think that it should become a month long gig. Great job everyone!

Rodney Rasmussen, 23-06-10 12:08:

4 days. It was better when it was short. Get everyone here for one weekend and make it worthwhile!

Sue Davenport, 22-06-10 20:43:

I have been attending Carnival almost every year from its inception. I feel the four day format was better as we used to get a lot of people booking rooms from one year to the next. This year I only attended the airing of the Quilts. It's easier for to choose what to go to in one weekend and I think we used to get more people over the four days as they would come for the parade stay overnight go to the beach day and then to the Seafood extravagansa or Food and wine and make a weekend of it.

susan , 22-06-10 20:19:

4 days is great makes it seem like a special event!

Paul Royall, 22-06-10 19:21:

Only negative people without the drive to make the Carnivale a 10 day event would oppose it. 10 Days of festivities that will grow over the next 20 years should be a priority otherwise Port will suffer the tourism doller.To the 4 dayer submissions I suggest that you work together to make this the best event in a OZ. Like Tamworth.
Congratulations to the Committee.
Paul the Bulldog

Angela Wilcox, 22-06-10 18:51:

Unfortunately I can see both sides of the argument. However, please remember there are a lot of people that book year to year for Carnivale. So please put a lot of advertising in place well ahead of time if you are going to make changes. I remember when the night of the Parade was changed, that caused a lot of grief, when visitors - local and interstate alike, had not heard about the change.

Whilst a fair comparison can really be made, Noosa does a number of events scattered throughout the year and this works for them very well. So maybe something to consider, but with a better fit for our region.

Gazza Tee, 22-06-10 17:49:

Whatever you choose to do, 4, 7 or 10 days, my mission is to be in Port for Carnavale 2011. Saving for the air tickets etc (plus hikes in UK green taxes and Value Added Tax) has already begun! See you in May 2011 (fingers crossed).

Raelene , 22-06-10 17:33:

Whilst I strongly agree with the editors comments, I am not sure that all of the events that happen over the 10 days would necessarily be as appealing on there own. I think the whole festival atmosphere kind of adds to each individual event. I guess it gets back to the main reason why the festival takes place - locals or tourist?? And it definitely needs greater promoting 4-6mths leading up to it if it is to attract further a field travellers. Whatever, well done PDCC and all involve in this year.

Toni , 22-06-10 17:25:

What a difference a year makes. Last year I expressed my opinion to Tourism PD that it should be a 5 day event. My comments were passed on to Ken Dobbs (without my permission - thanks guys). He then proceeded to come and see me and give me the world's biggest dressing down. How dare I express an opinion. What would a stupid girl like me know. Now others (at least 50%) share my view. Oh well, I guess I'm in for another roasting but at least this time I won't be alone.

Gary k Bock, 22-06-10 16:14:

As a long term local I say bring back the affordable 4day Fest that celebrated "our" way of life ,not the "Bums in Beds Fest" that it morphed into at the expense of the original concept!

Tony , 22-06-10 15:48:

There is not the variety or exciting things that can be stretched out for ten days.
4 days is ample.

Monika Spicer, 22-06-10 15:41:

I agree with editor. Everything was very well done, but some events needed some tweeking which I think the organiser has taken on board. I would support either option but would hate events to be sacrificed because they do not fit into the 4 days. As it was multiple events were held on same day which made it hard to participate in all we wanted to too. I can relate to the cost issues too. All events represented great value for money however. What happens when you put events in isolation, it may not be enough of an impetus to get people to travel just for one event. If it is to remain a local festival then it whatever suits the locals but if the idea is to encourage interstate/other town visitation, then the event schedule and packages etc needs to be promoted more than 6 montsh in advance so people can plan to be there.
Well done to everyone involved I will be certainly doing most of them again next year.

Kristie McDowall, 22-06-10 15:23:

I am in complete agreement with the editor. While Carnivale is supposed to attract a greater influx of tourism, it doesn't really seem to do this. Yes people come from Cairns and the Tablelands, but all of the interstate tourists I spoke to just put their visit down to good timing. As a local I had to set myself a limit of two events. The budget just wont stretch any more than that - however if I could go to one event a month - I would go to all events.... and I still think we would get the influx of people from Cairns at the Tablelands. We need more to do throughout the year and not pack it all into 2 weeks. 4 day carnivale for me - and spread the rest out.

Beth Anderson, 22-06-10 15:21:

I think 10days so that the Accommodation Houses and Restaurants can have the visitors in house for longer. There are so many events on in a 4 day period that many of the Restaurants would miss out on dinner guests.

Add comment

Tue 22 June

Carnivale 10 days or 4?

Since Carnivale 2010 ended it has become one of the hottest topics for discussion around town. Should it remain in it’s current ten day format or should it revert to it’s 2005 four day format.

From the conversations we’ve had, it would seem evenly split, so we thought we would ask you the local, visitor and industry member what you thought about the format of Port Douglas Carnivale for 2011 - Should Carnivale be a 10 day, or a 4 day festival?

Carnivale as we know it now was introduced in 2006 when M.A.D. (Managing Australian Destinations) took over the event organising, but prior to that it was the prospect of a 4 day full on long weekend that attracted the crowds.

So tell us what format you'd prefer by casting your vote by clicking on either the 10 day or 4 day button below. Also please don’t hold back from having your say within the comments section below on why you've chosen your preferred option.

There's no doubting Carnivale has come an essential part of the fabric of Port Douglas, and the events on offer are a delight to attend. But in the end it's YOUR Carnivale, so let's hear what you've got to say.

Editors Comments: I thought Carnivale 2010 was a great success and congratulations should go to the organising team from The Chamber of Commerce for their efforts and achievements throughout the full ten days.

My only concern on the subject of ten days was that my wife and I would like to have attended more events than we did but the overall cost, had we done so, would have totalled nearly $2,000 and that was just too much for us at this time of the year.

However had some of the events been spread out throughout the year, we would undoubtedly go to them all. And since some of them are not necessarily pure Port Douglas Carnivale related events, it might encourage more visitors to come into town from regional and interstate towns throughout the year too.

Any comments that you post, we’ll be delighted to forward onto the Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce so they get as wide a voice of opinion as possible before they make their decisions for next year's Port Douglas Carnivale.