Festival to wow guests
THE spotlight will shine on the achievements of women in the Far North at a two-day event to be held next week.
The Women of the World (WOW) festival, featuring markets, workshops, performances and keynote speakers, will be held at the Bulmba-Ja Arts Centre on May 13-14.
Hosting a comedy show on Saturday night, international comedian and cabaret star Jenny Wynter and her Funny Mummies will take to the stage.
Festival executive producer Cathy Hunt said the weekend would be a celebration of the achievements of local women and girls.
“Within that celebration, it’s also about looking at the barriers and problems that women and girls still face in the world,” she said.
“Domestic and family violence, sexual harassment, equal pay is still not fixed.”
Ms Hunt said the festival centred around women talking about issues they face and sharing their stories in a safe and fun atmosphere.
“We will film the event and it will give opportunities for those stories to be shared beyond Cairns,” she said.
“It’s about hearing somebody’s story and seeing your situation in somebody else.”
The event is gaining interest across the state as Ms
Hunt confirmed people were flying in from Brisbane and Groote Eylandt to attend.
“In three weeks we raised (enough) money from individuals to bring 20 women and girls from Yarrabah to come up for the weekend and a group (are) coming down from Lockhart too,” Ms Hunt said.
“There’s fabulous things going on in Cairns.”
Ms Hunt said they expected the festival to be full as Friday tickets had already sold out, while Saturday passes were still available.
“The marketplace and exhibition will be free for everybody,” Ms Hunt said.