Community
12 July, 2024
Holloways Beach fair aims to unite residents
A FUN fair to celebrate the renewal of flood-ravaged Holloways Beach aims to unite the suburb and tell the rest of the world the community is well and truly alive.
‘Hello Holloways’ will involve more than 60 stalls, food trucks, live music, kid’s entertainment, basketball and pickle ball demonstrations, plus more, on Sunday from 8am to 2pm.
Seven months after the suburb was ravaged by a 1-in-100-year flooding event, members of Holloways Beach Men’s Shed and Holloways Beach Community Hall have organised the fair with the clear message: “Welcome back.”
Men’s shed spokesman John “Gus” Kelly said the event had been developed to help attract business and the general public back to the beach.
“Our small community has taken quite the battering, and we have lost so much, but we are still standing,” he said. “There is still a long road to recovery, but there is still much to celebrate about Holloways Beach.
“So, when it came to organising a community fair to bring everyone together, we thought there was no better name than ‘Hello Holloways’.”
Mr Kelly said profits raised from the event would go back into local community-based programs, via the men’s shed.
“We have 32 members at Holloways Beach Men’s Shed, including many who have been flood affected, and some whose homes have still been deemed uninhabitable,” he said.
“There is a public perception that little old Holloways Beach was completely wiped out, and that it’s a ghost town.
“This is clearly not correct. We’re still here. There are still people who need help, and we need to do everything we can to help get us back on our feet.”
“We are not flood victims, we are flood survivors,” Mr Kelly said
Holloways Beach Community Hall secretary Suzette Habel acknowledged the work being done by Cairns Regional Council and other members of the community to help the popular beachside markets return to the suburb.
“We know that everyone loved our monthly markets, which were the only truly beachside markets in the Far North,” Ms Habel said. “The markets were a staple for many small businesses, and because there is just so much restoration work that needs to be done to our beautiful beachfront, it’s going to be a long time before we will see the markets return.
“Our community fair is not designed to be a replacement for the markets, but it will feature many of the stallholders that people know and love.
“This is just our way to try and help bring a bit of love back to our suburb.”
Men’s shed president Steve Habel said: “We’re alive. We just want people to know that the suburb is still here. Sure, there were floods but we’re moving on.”
Cr Rhonda Coghlan (division 8) said the fair was a “fabulous” idea and would “activate the suburb again”. “It will be good to see people out and about in Holloways Beach again,” she said.
Syd and Jane Granville Park is on the corner of Oleander and Cassia streets.
