Community
23 November, 2024
Girls just want to have festive fun
THE girls’ favourite Facebook group, F.N.Q Girls Just Want to Have Fun, is bringing the holiday cheer early as they prepare to celebrate the season together with a sold-out Christmas party on November 29.
Founded in 2020 looking to battle isolation, the group is celebrating four years of bringing thousands of women in the Far North together with a Christmas party at the Novotel on Friday, November 29.
Eighty women will join in the sold-out event, but founders of the group are encouraging women to continue to grow the community and start their own events.
“Back in November 2020 I didn't know a lot of people in Cairns because I moved from Adelaide, so I reached out on the Cairns Girls Advice Facebook page and initially there was only 10 of us,” said group founder Kate Partridge.
“We just had a message group chat and I thought of opening a Facebook group.
“Our first meeting was at the Cairns Colonial Club and then somehow we went from 20 members to 50, to 100, to 1000, to nearly 4500 women.”
Ms Partridge and four other friends – Lyn Murphy, Trudi Grott, Ruby Rose and Kim Dunbar – became administrators of the group which nowadays is responsible for dozens of gatherings of women around the city and hundreds of new friendships.
“What we do there is all voluntary,” Ms Murphy said.
“We spend a bit of time during the week looking at events that are coming up in Cairns – we support local businesses – and we encourage women to attend, so they either build the group themselves with our assistance or sometimes we create and host an event.
“We encourage women to come along and meet new people whether they meet one or five new friends. Women love to have friends and we need to have our support circles around as well.”
Ms Partridge said the Christmas parties had also been a great success.
“We always run them at the Novotel and this year we capped attendance because last year we had 120 women attending and it was a lot to handle so this year we have limited tickets to 80 and it has sold out,” she said.
To join the group, visit
