To book your tickets call 4041 3000 or head to the Taipans website for all the latest Cairns Taipans News.  Plus while your there check out all the upcoming game dates and purchase your season ticket (round 1 kicks off on the 16th Oct)….go the taipans!

Over the coming 2 weeks we will be filling our calendar and the Cairns section with HEAPS of ideas to keep families and kids super busy this School Holidays, so check back soon!

The shows will be a hit with everyone. Bring the littlies, bring Grandma, bring the whole family along, it will be a great night of local entertainment! Visit the Backstreet Dance Website or call Deborah Storer (Director) on 0407 995 182, for more info.

On Thursday and Friday, performances are from 3.30pm to 4pm and 5pm to 5.30pm near the Lagoon and Western Events stage, Esplanade. Saturday’s shows will be at 10am and 2pm. Otherwise head to Carnival on Collins this Sunday 5h September for the final two performances: Main Stage in Flecker Botanic Gardens at 10 am and then the Community Stage in Tank 5 at 11.55am.

Amazing Drumming Monkeys is the brainchild of two Adelaide percussionists, Xavier Beaubois and Troy Moore. They have performed live for kids and families at festivals all over Australia. This is a must see show!

Remember the festival finishes on the 5th September so make the most of the last few days! To find all the Festival Cairns events click here to visit their website.

From festival fun, Rotary duck race, live music, animal shows, fire twirling, markets to free exercise classes, there is a heap of great stuff for you to enjoy! To find out what is happening on the Esplanade and City Place in September click here.

Children will create their own ‘ litter bugs’ out of found and recylcled objects with artist Trent Hams. Hayley Gillespie will assist children to create miniature 3D homes, based on her own sculptures, ‘ A Family of Queeslanders’. To book and find out more details contact Carly Clarke-Rushton at the Cairns Regional Gallery on 40 464 888.

Cairns Festival producer, Eric Holowacz said each of the 90+ Art-o-mat machines in existence are works of art themselves, and is proud that Cairns is now home to Australia’s first affordable art dispensing machine – just days after the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC gets its first” Holowacz said that Cairns Regional Council will soon offer workshops to encourage local artists to make vendible works and become part of the Art-o-mat network.

To find out more about the Cairns Festival  Art-o-mat machine visit the Festival Website.

What is an Art-o-mat?
Art-o-mat machines are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art. There are over 90 active machines in various locations throughout the country. To see many of the machines and their locations, click here

What do you get from an Art-o-mat?
The experience of pulling the knob alone is quite a thrill, but you also walk away with an original work of art. What an easy way to become an art collector. To view a list of participating artists and see samples of their work, click here

The story behind Art-o-mat®
The inspiration for Art-o-mat® came to artist Clark Whittington while observing a friend who had a Pavlovian reaction to the crinkle of a cellophane wrapper. When Whittington’s friend heard someone opening a snack, he had the uncontrollable urge to have one too.

The year was 1997, the town was Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Whittington was set to have a solo art show at a local cafe, Penny Universitie (which eventually became Mary’s Of Course Cafe). This is when Whittington used a recently-banned cigarette machine to create the first Art-o=mat. In June 1997, it was installed, along with 12 of his paintings. The machine sold Whittington’s black & white photographs for $1.00 each.

This art show was scheduled to be dismantled in July 1997. However, Cynthia Giles (owner of the Penny Universitie) loved the machine and asked that it stay permanently and machine remains unaltered in its original location to this day. At that point, it was clear that involvement of other artists was needed if the project was going to continue. Giles introduced Whittington to a handful of other local artists and Artists in Cellophane was formed.

Artists in Cellophane (A.I.C.), the sponsoring organization of Art*o*mat® is based on the concept of taking art and “repackaging” it to make it part of our daily lives. The mission of A.I.C. is to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. A.I.C believes that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable.
For more information: www.artomat.org

There will be a range of great things to do including jumping castle and slide, entertainment, face painting, prizes, heaps of children’s activities, information stalls, a sausage sizzle and ice-cream! To find out more contact Hambledon House on 4045 0222.

The showcase will be at the Cairns Esplanade on the 16th October with the winning band or musician given the opportunity to perform in front of a huge crowd on New Years Eve at the Esplanade. You must be signed up to the cookedincairns.com website with a current profile to go in the running before 1st october. The acts that have been selected to perform at the Showcase will be notified before the 8th October.

Organiser “Sheriff” Dales Whyte said “Op Rudolf is not just about a car it is about good cheer and putting smiles on Children’s faces. While I am touched that people think because of the loss of the iconic Sheriff Car Op Rudolf may have been in doubt, it is about a lot more than that! Operation Rudolf and Op Santa will be going ahead as planned and will be bigger and better than ever! Operation Rudolf is for the Kids and very year we raise money for a child related charity and this year the crew of Trinity Beach SES are proud to be associated with assisting the Salvation Army with their Toy Drive; Operation Santa as well.”

A replacement vehicle has been secured and should be on the streets of Cairns inside the next two months. For the last 4 years Operation Rudolf has been lead by the iconic black & white sheriff car, in all a total of 5 sheriff cars normally take part in this event. An equal number should turn out for this year and Smokie One replacement vehicle Trinity Four One will be the lead vehicle.

To find out more about Operation Rudolf contact Dales Whyte on 0411 600 707.