SPARK Ipswich Festival will run July 8-18

Ipswich City Council is hoping the upcoming SPARK Ipswich festival can galvanise the community in early July.

Artwork will be projected onto iconic Ipswich buildings including St Mary's Church during the SPARK festival in early July.

IPSWICH is set to host an 11-day festival in early July that will combine live music, comedy and art with public light and water displays across the city.

The SPARK Ipswich Festival is set to run July 8-18, celebrating the city’s people, places, arts and culture.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said SPARK would showcase what Ipswich has to offer.

“Light and water displays at St Mary’s Church and the Bremer River will be centre stage as we celebrate the diverse people, places, arts and culture that make our city so vibrant, liveable and fun,” Cr Harding said.

The festival will feature all-ages events, including music and activities designed entirely for children as part of the Little Day Out at Ripley Town Centre.

Little Day Out will feature workshops, painting, live music and dance displays and more.

Among the headline acts for the kids’ show is legendary band Regurgitator, who will present a no-doubt more family-friendly take on their music.

The band’s POGOGO show will bring witty yet silly humour in a musical mas-up of rock, funk and pop.

The Regurgitator Pogogo Show lines up as part of the jam-packed SPARK Ipswich program. Photo by Savannah van der Niet

The council’s culture and arts spokesman Councillor Andrew Fechner said the introduction of new events and displays would appeal to a broader audience.

“We are a young city and it’s important we present a program that appeals to all ages and SPARK Ipswich has done just that,” Cr Fechner said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Brisbane Street activated for Waghorn to West and Australia’s first ever dedicated contemporary music, arts and sustainability festival for under 10s right here in Ipswich.”

Waghorn to West will include 16 live music acts across eight sessions and four venues for a night dedicated to music lovers.

Two of Ipswich’s oldest music groups, the Ipswich Orpheus Chorale and Amberley Brass, will perform with Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra and Jam Pact for the Best of British concert at St Mary’s Church.

SPARK 2021 will feature three light displays across the CBD for Spark After Dark - Refraction, DeLight and Pixel.

Refraction will turn the Bremer River into an interactive and immersive light and water display that lets viewers tune into the soundtrack on their personal devices.

DeLight will project the works of 11 local artists straight onto the exterior of St Mary’s Church.

The new Ipswich City Council administration building on Nicholas Street will transform with the works of USQ Engineering students who made artworks from equations in Pixel.

SPARK will run from July 8-18 with 14 events across the allotted 11 days.

For more information and the full festival program, visit: www.SPARKipswich.com.au