Tropical festival-goers flock to CQ for fine music and fun

The fast growing local festival kicks off at 10am this morning.

BLOOMING GOOD: John Lenon of Yilgar Designs from Sydney with backpackers Soul, Jess Dowlman Tom Back and Dani Affleck. Picture: Jann Houley

AMONG the early bird guests at the three-day Tropical Bloom festival at Hedlow Creek are a tight bunch of backpacking friends from all over the world.

Josh Lenon has brought his Yilgar design wares from Sydney to catch up with the crowds who increasingly flock to CQ's hippest music rave.

Jess Dowlman and Dani Affleck from New Zealand, Soul from "up there somewhere” and Tom Back from Western Australia heard about Tropical Bloom from a retail shop in Rockhampton's CBD.

Now they've they've set up camp for the weekend, they're in awe of their surroundings.

"We came from Cairns where it's been a bit colder so we're loving this warm weather,” Ms Affleck said.

"It's beautiful down by the creek but I don't know if we're game to take a dip.”

Tropical Bloom kicks off today as a celebration of art, culture and community. It's culture is a blend of indigenous, tribal, traditional and new age values and ideals with community as the glue that bonds it all together.

The 2019 festival features a "co-mingling” of Maori culture and the ever-present Indigenous Australian mobs with live and electronic music playing across two stages.

READ THE FULL BLOOMING STORY HERE: Family love blooms at Hedlow fest

Tropical Bloom Highlights

• Saturday 10am - Sunday 4.30pm
• Main stage acts include Vaggaphonics, Brother Beans, Chocolate Strings, Meraki Circus, Bustaflux, Watasuni, Erb, Dingo Jones and more.
• For more information head to www.tropicalbloom.com.au

Originally published as Tropical festival-goers flock to CQ for fine music and fun