Three Queensland music festivals get state funding

Image via Jungle Love Festival on Facebook

Three regional music festivals are among 13 events that are sharing in more than $245,000 in Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) funding to support leading events in regional Queensland communities.

Jungle Love Music and Arts Festival at Imbil, near the Sunshine Coast, will receive funding for the first time under this round. It gets $10,000 towards staging its November 30–December 2 event in 2017.

Airlie Beach Festival of Music in the Whitsundays was the recipient of $15,000. Its 2017 dates are November 9–12.

Yarrabah Band Festival in Tropical North Queensland (November 4) received $20,000. Founded by the Queensland Music Festival and now in its fifth year, the 2016 instalment had Archie Roach, Montaigne and Shellie Morris.

The funding was the sixth in TEQ’s Queensland Destination Events Program (QDEP) introduced two years ago. It has three funding rounds a year.

“Over the past two years, our Government has delivered almost $4.5 million to support destination tourism events across Queensland … delivering on our commitment to make Queensland the best destination for live events in Australia,” said Kate Jones,Minister for Education and Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Commonwealth Games.

“The program supports our vision to build Queensland’s reputation as the leading tourism and events destination.

“We want to support events that attract visitors to regional Queensland destinations and contribute an economic boost to local communities.”

The other regional events to receive funding in this round were Brisbane’s Abbey Medieval Festival, Brisbane’s Quandamooka Festival, Spirit of Bundaberg Festival, Mackay Beach Horse Races, the Blackall Heartland Festival, Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic, Warwick Gold Cup Campdraft & Australian Championship Rodeo, The Stanthorpe Apple & Grape Harvest Festival, Taste Port Douglas, and Cairns Tropical Pride.