General News
22 May, 2023
Three big field days kicks off
THOUSANDS of people are expected to flood through the gates of the Mareeba rodeo grounds over the next three days to see Northern Australia’s biggest and best display of agricultural excellence.
The 2023 Rotary FNQ Field Days kicks off today, with a showcase of new attractions and exhibits and about 50 additional sites.
With the theme, “Celebration of Agriculture”, this year’s event will see the return of crowd-favourite attractions such as the Brown and Hurley Agriculture Tractor Pull and Garden Tractor Display, Health and Wellbeing Displays, daily working machinery demonstrations, events in the arena, cattle display, Emergency Services demonstrations, and much more.
Businesses from across Queensland and intrastate have jumped at the chance to take part in the biennial event, with 99 per cent of sites sold out.
The three-day event has grown exponentially since its conception in the mid-1980s, with more than 15,000 people attending in 2021 and a record 500 exhibitors featured.
This year’s event, which is hosted by the Rotary Clubs of Atherton and Mareeba, promises to set the bar even higher.
Event Chair Cr Kevin Davies said the three-day event was a great contributor to the regional economy.
“This event occurs every two years and the economic benefit it brings to not just Mareeba and Atherton but to the region as a whole, it’s huge,” he said.
“All money raised from this event goes back into the local communities and distribut-ed to many charities and organisations across the region.
“The Field Days also creates an opportunity to catch up with old friends, colleagues and distributors.
“This is not only a field day but a social gathering for many.”
Site co-ordinator Nina Grant organisers always received positive feedback from exhibitors.
“We have many exhibitors that come back year after year to the Field Days because they do so well over the three days,” she said.
“So many businesses report great sales and great customer interaction as well as generating new interest from being out in the public.
“Due to this success, we have businesses that have never taken part in the Field Days and want to be involved and get their name out there. So, we created more exhibitor sites to allow for this growth and it’s something we’re really excited about.”
Online tickets are the preferred method to allows visitors to get through the gate more efficiently, but tickets will also be available to purchase at the gate each day.
The 2023 Field Days will be held from 24-26 May, with gates open from 9am each day.
