For the first time ever The Gulf Country Frontier Days Festival will be held in the Aboriginal community of Doomadgee from Wednesday August 16 through Sunday, August 20.
Event organiser Goodidja Productions’ Alec Doomadgee said the festival will include the always popular rodeo events, which this year will become the Indigenous Rodeo Championships.
This will be a unique opportunity to share in the deep history and cultural stories created over tens of thousands of years through song, dance and ceremony and to witness the incredible talents being showcased at the Championships.
“White and black Australians share a deep passion for the cattle industry and the rodeo scene, and it’s important to shine a light on that,” Alec said.
He said the bar has been raised this year for the Championships, which is now a APRA-affiliated event.
“We’ll have Brandenburg bucking stock and Steve Hilton and his team will be doing the judging, we’ve ticked all the boxes,” he said.
Alec said he’s expecting hundreds of of Aboriginal men and women from far and wide to attend the Championships.
“Many communities are interested in taking part, and boatloads of people from Mornington Island will be coming over. It’s going to be a good competition.”
He said in Doomadgee and Burketown the Overlanders took cattle to large pastoral properties in the region, and made contact with the Aboriginal people.
“This early impact set the tone for what we see today in the region, so during the festival we’ll highlight and discuss that shared history.”
This year will also see the inclusion of the Indigenous Rodeo Ball, where the first ever Indigenous Rodeo Queen and Indigenous Rodeo Princess will be crowned as part of the festival.
The festival will include nightly concerts and entertainment, including some of Australia’s most iconic musicians – Kasey Chambers, Troy Cassar-Daley and Shane Howard (Goanna).
“We’ll also be giving local Aboriginal bands like Morning Glory and Split Image an opportunity to perform with the headline artists.”
A huge corroboree will be held on August 17 featuring the Mornington Island, Doomadgee and Torres Strait dancers, and a spectacular welcome to country ceremony will also take place.
Alec said while the festival is currently in its infancy, he’s expecting people will arrive in droves to support and enjoy the event.
“We want to turn The Gulf Country Frontier Days Festival into a destination event for The Gulf, and we’re hoping to hold the festival in different places across The Gulf each year.
For further information regarding the festival please contact Goodidja Productions on 0437363572 or email gulfcountryfrontierdaysfest@gmail.com. To book tickets please visit the Outback Tickets event page at www.outbacktickets.com.au/event/the-gulf-country-frontier-days-festival.