Festival to kick off as whale watching season begins in Hervey Bay
The annual whale watching season is set to kick off in Hervey Bay, along with a month-long festival to celebrate the return of the humpbacks. FULL LIST OF EVENTS
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The humpback whales are returning to Hervey Bay, along with the city’s annual festival to celebrate the season.
From July to October, thousands of humpbacks begin their journey into the waters of the bay, stopping and playing for up to two weeks at a time.
To celebrate the season, the Hervey Bay Whale Season will return with a program of fun events.
“This year, we reached out to the community on social media to gather valuable feedback to help create a fun filled program for the 2023 event. As a result, we have changed some site locations and broken the festival into individual events and precincts, offering different opportunities to event attendees, with the main collaboration of the Whale Festival being held from Friday, August 4, to Sunday, August 6,” events manager Chelsea Larner Simpson said.
This year’s event celebrates the return of the Blessing of the Fleet.
The event was on hiatus in 2022, but this year the blessing returns to Hervey Bay Marina on July 15 to coincide with the official launch of the Hervey Bay Whale season.
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A family fun Marina Party, the blessing event showcases Hervey Bay’s whale watching fleet in the hub of Fraser Coast’s marine Mecca.
Festival goers can enjoy a range of fun-filled activities suitable for all ages, from food stalls to live music, a live jet-pack performance and concluding with the traditional procession of the Whale Fleet to celebrate the humpbacks’ return.
On August 3, festival goers can enjoy a night of personal tales hosted by UniSC with the academic favourite Creating Waves event.
Traditional Butchulla owners will explain the importance of the whales and how Whale Song lines connect First Nations along the entire east coast of Australia.
They will learn how citizen scientists have contributed to the Happy Whale recognition system, which is now extending throughout the oceans of the world, sending feedback about whales who have visited our shores.
On August 4, at Urangan’s Pier Park from 4-8pm, FCTE will introduce The Twilight Swing, a new addition to the festival.
The event will be an evening of dance and song with local headlining act the The Rock n Roll Boys.
Guests are encouraged to go and enjoy the live music under the stars and perhaps try their foot at quick swing dance.
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The Whale Festival’s main event, the Community Parade and Family Carnival. will be held on August 5, at two locations.
The City Park Discovery Pod will be held at City Park from 2-5.30pm on the Saturday, with live music, sport competitions, art activations and educational activities where visitors can discover the wonders of the marine world by getting up close to ocean life through touch tanks, take part in community competitions, and make their own lantern in preparation for the “Parade of Lights”.
“The parade is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your creativity and contribute to a display of lanterns that will light up Main Street. The adjustment of the Parade route from City Park to Seafront Oval, has increased the accessibility to participation in the parade for individuals and families,” Ms Larner Simpson said.
The Parade of Lights will be led by local Butchulla people, who have been busy creating an illuminated display of marine life including Milbi (Turtle), Yulu (Dolphin), and Yuwangkan (Dugon).
This project has been supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund, a partnership between the Queensland government and Fraser Coast Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
From 5-8.30pm also on the Saturday, the Funtime Amusement Seafront Spectacular will be held at Seafront Oval in Pialba.
The community events showcase live music, family entertainment, amusement rides and end with sponsored fireworks.
On August 6, FCTE will conclude the weekend by embracing the magic of Hervey Bay’s calm waters with the iconic Paddle out for the Whales. An ocean gathering of paddleboards, kayaks and surfboards followed by music and entertainment. participants observe a minute of silence to recognise the importance of the ocean and its marine life including our majestic humpbacks whales to the world.
For more information on the 2023 Hervey Bay Whale Festival follow @frasercoastevents on Facebook and Instagram and visit the website.
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