Community & Business
7 October, 2022
Torimba Festival has something for everyone
RAVENSHOE is the place to be over the next week or so as the 2022 Torimba Festival kicks off, showcasing and celebrating the town’s proud heritage as a timber town and a tourism destination.
The annual event officially started last weekend with the Festival of the Forest which showcases some of the most beautiful woodwork you will ever see, with visitors able to view the displays or purchase items at Festival Hall in Wakooka Street until 15 October.
The overall festival has a huge number of events including highlights like the Torimba Festival Ball on 15 October which will be attended by the Festival Queen, Taylah Dalgety along with two Miss Torimba’s, Charlie Lee Sye and Georgie Hewitt, and Master Torimba, Clayton McFarlane.
This Friday the Ravenshoe Chamber of Commerce presents the Torimba Hoedown with local band, “No Requests” rocking out at the Pony Club on Wooroora Rd.
This is followed by the festival favourite this Saturday, when the ever-popular Mardi Gras parade, with a theme this year of “Favourite TV Programs”, gets underway in Grigg Street from 3pm.
The best floats, Best Dressed Business and prizes in the kids colouring-in and photo competitions will be announced at 4pm.
Before the parade, there are plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained, with the action-packed woodchop heats to start at 2pm beside the Wakooka St Hall.
Some of the region’s best woodchoppers will be competing in the heats, culminating in the final at 4.45pm.
Lots of fun awaits families, starting with the scramble of the lolly canon explosion at 4pm alongside the jumping castles, chair swings, a merry-go-round, sandpit, a black-smith display, arts and crafts, and food stalls all on offer throughout the afternoon. There are plenty of food and street stalls to keep everyone well fed throughout the day.
The Jinnabulgan indigenous dancers will perform around 4.15pm beside the Raven-shoe Hotel, followed by a Samba Dance and drumming performances, followed by live music on a flatbed stage in the main street and the Team Truck Pull from 6.15pm, with the winning team to pick up a $1000 cash prize.
The evening will round out with a fire-works display from 8pm.
The festival continues on Sunday with the Garden party expo at the hardware at 9am, and Barefoot Bowls at Ravenshoe Bowls Club from 1pm for a chilled afternoon at the end of huge weekend.
On Wednesday 12 October the Bowls Club hosts a bumper bingo night with loads of prizes, finishing with the Torimba Festival Ball on 15 October at the Ravenshoe Town Hall to wrap up the celebrations and give all the sponsors and hardworking Torimba team a chance to glam up and kick up their heels along to live music on stage.
