Community
5 July, 2024
City is ‘blak, loud and proud’
CAIRNS is ‘blak, loud and proud’ as the community prepares to celebrate 2024 NAIDOC Week to honour First Nations culture and resilience.
Under the theme – ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud’ – dozens of events celebrating the culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will take place across the city from today.
“‘Blak, Loud, and Proud’ encapsulates the unapologetic celebration of Indigenous identity, empowering us to stand tall in our heritage and assert our place in the modern world,” national NAIDOC committee co-chairman Steven Satour said.
“This theme calls for a reclamation of our narratives, an amplification of our voices, and an unwavering commitment to justice and equality,” he said.
Celebrations kick off this morning with a march from Munro Martin Parklands at 9am to Fogarty Park where the celebration really begins with NAIDOC in the Park from 10am to 5pm.
NAIDOC in the Park will have stalls from Indigenous businesses with arts and crafts, food and live entertainment and a Cairns Regional Council pop-up library. Saturday will focus on commemorating elders and their legacy with an elders’ lunch at Nintiringanyi Cultural Training Centre from 10.30am.
On Sunday, various churches and denominations in Cairns will come together for a special NAIDOC church service at the Masonic Centre on Hartill St, Edmonton, from 10am followed by a barbecue from 12pm to 2pm.
In celebration of this year’s theme, the Wuchopperen Health Service is bringing back its annual and free ‘community day’ at their headquarters in Manoora from 1pm to 5pm on Wednesday with dance performances, educational games, information stalls, crafts workshops and free traditional food.
The fun continues with an 18+ NAIDOC Trivia Night at the Cairns Colonial Club on Thursday from 6.30pm while Friday will see deadly live entertainment with Mob In Music at X-Clusive Night Club.
Culminating the celebrations in deadly style, an Edor competition will take place at Watson’s Oval on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday July 14, a sold-out gala dinner at Crystalbrook Riley on the night of July 13 and a youth leadership forum on July 18 at St Mary’s Catholic College.
For more information on all events and to register, visit
