The weather is warming up and festival season is coming in hot. If you missed out on tickets to this year’s sell-out Yarrabah Music and Cultural Festival, then don’t fear. QLD Music Trails presents the Tropics Trail, bringing an epic, new and free First Nations arts festival, Shine On Gimuy, to Cairns Esplanade from Thursday, October 5 to Sunday, October 15.
Led by Indigenous Creative and Cultural Guides, this stunning multi-artform display is your passport to a journey of immersion, exploration and authentic connection to the world’s oldest culture. The streets will come alive with colourful light shows, fascinating art installations and evocative soundscapes featuring the language, stories, chants and songs that have culminated from the rich Indigenous oral history of the Gimuy/Cairns region.
Festival-goers can also immerse themselves in 60,000 years of history, science, tradition and stories untold with an enriching line-up of talks and musical performances. One to watch out for is the Gimuy ArtStory Walk, which includes a Calling Country Opening Ceremony on Thursday, October 5 at 6.30pm and installations from the Blak Markets, Blaktivation and more.
Cairn’s picturesque waterfront venue, Salt House is joining the festivities from October 5-8 with a full program of performances by Australia’s best-known First Nations talent, featuring Dan Sultan, Emily Wurramara, Miiesha and Jungaji. They’ll also play host to an insightful Deep Wisdom talk series where cultural knowledge holders will discuss everything from sea migration and songlines to stories of creation and First Nations inventors.