The Cruise Whitsundays Great Barrier Reef Festival Wraps Up After Another Successful Year!

The Cruise Whitsundays Great Barrier Reef Festival wrapped up on Sunday afternoon after a successful four days of events that celebrated the natural beauty of The Whitsundays and the importance of reef education and conservation.

The festival attracted thousands of visitors from all over Australia and the world, who enjoyed a variety of free and ticketed events, including:

• The Coral Sea Marina Immersive Reef Stories evening, which transported visitors to the depths of the Great Barrier Reef.
• Coral Sea Marina’s enchanting lantern parade snaking around the ocean edge into Fairy Tree Park to meet with the Immerse art installation.
• The Immerse art installation, which was created from recycled material and was on display in Fair Tree Park along with a life size humpback whale and calf.
• Whale and reef themed art was on show all weekend at the Airlie Creatives Art Exhibition.
• The Twilight & Firework Cruise on Camira, which offered stunning views of Airlie Beach and the festival fireworks.
• The Reef Experience with Master Reef Guides, which took visitors on a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the Great Barrier Reef.
• The Bait to Plate lunch at Fish D’vine, which featured a delicious menu of seafood from the Whitsundays.
• The Medibank Magic Mile gave runners, young and old a chance to sprint for the finish line.
• The Rotary and Ray White Street Parade saw 25 floats dazzle the main street with their whale-themed creations.
• Fraser Ford Revvin the Reef Car Show, brought together classics, high-performance and modern cars for a street full of torque.
• Team Kerr Family Fun Day on Sunday attracted kids and the young at heart for treasure hunts, three-legged races and circus tricks.
• The Whitsunday Escape Recyclable Regatta attracted entrants and their homemade recyclable rafts to paddle madly for the finish line.
• The Entertainment was stand-out with Reece Mastin and Salt and Steel dominating the stage on Friday night and local legends Sun Salute, Flying Double Front Kick, The Wild Sky and Mish N Possible on Saturday night.

Cruise Whitsundays Great Barrier Reef Festival Chair, Margie Murphy said this year’s festival was incredibly successful.

“We are so thankful to all our sponsors, our incredible volunteers and to all the people who came to enjoy the Festival this year; we couldn’t do it without you! We’re looking forward to the 2024 Cruise Whitsundays Great Barrier Reef Festival,” Ms Murphy said.

Tourism Whitsundays CEO, Rick Hamilton congratulated the Cruise Whitsundays Great Barrier Reef Festival committee on another successful festival.

“This weekend was months in the making, and the outcome was the fantastic festival we all got to enjoy. Well done to the committee and volunteers who brought the reef to life for locals and visitors to enjoy,” Mr Hamilton said.

The organisers of the Great Barrier Reef Festival thank all the Festival sponsors and volunteers who brought this year’s Festival to life.