Poppins postponed: Festival plans on hold amid SEQ lockdown

Just a week after the program was released, one of the Coast’s top events is on hold amid COVID-19 uncertainty.

From the archives – Mary Poppins Festival 2018 – (L) Kiah, Aaliah and Kayli Skuse from Maryborough in one of the nanny races.

The Mary Poppins Festival is off for now as organisers respond to revised restrictions and parts of the state head into a three-day lockdown.

The popular event was due to kick off this Thursday, July 1 and run for four days, culminating in the Day in the Park on Sunday.

A proposed new date has been pencilled in for August 26.

It comes as Queensland’s Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced parts of the state would go into a three-day lockdown from 6pm Tuesday.

While the Fraser Coast had been spared on Tuesday night, areas impacted included Townsville, Palm Island, Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan City, Moreton Bay, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and the Gold Coast.

Fraser Coast Tourism and Events and the Fraser Coast Regional Council confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that in the “interest of public health and safety, the festival should be postponed until the current outbreak is under control.”

“Mary Poppins is one of the most resilient characters in literary history, so it makes perfect sense that the festival remains a feature of the 2021 event calendar” Event Manager Robyn Peach said.

“Postponing it to the 26th-29th of August is in the best interest of the community and the event, which will remain a celebration of the wonderful world of storytelling through the imagination of artists from a variety of mediums”.