A three day festival will be held this year to herald the start of the Burdekin's sugar cane crush.
The annual cane fire and held hand cane cutting competition will this year be complimented with a multicultural festival as part of an expanded Sweet Days, Hot Nights line up.
Burdekin Mayor Lyn McLaughlin said the event would begin with the first fire on Thursday, May 30, with the Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships to be held on Saturday, June 1.
For the first time, the Burdekin Cultural Fair will be held in Ayr on Sunday, June 2.
"The Sweet Days, Hot Nights Festival was a great success in 2018, with more than 2,000 people witnessing the power of the first fire and a further 3,000 attending the Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships," Cr McLaughlin said.
"The Burdekin Cultural Fair will celebrate our diverse culture here in the Burdekin through a range of cultural activities, food and entertainment, and will ensure the festival is celebrated throughout the shire.
"Through this signature festival event, we envisage growing the visitor economy and offering a unique experience for both visitors and locals alike."
Nominations for the cane cutting contest are now open, and it is expected to attract a diverse range of competitors.
Cr McLaughlin, who competed for the first time last year, said the national championships was the ultimate test of skill and endurance.
"Hand cane cutting is dirty, back-breaking work. You have to swing a knife over and over again as you cut and lay the sticks as quickly as possible," Cr McLaughlin said.
"Walking around the showgrounds, you can tell who's competed that day because they're typically covered head to toe with sticky black residue."
Participants are required to harvest sugar cane armed only with a cane knife, before sticks are neatly stacked. No more than 5cm of the cane should be left behind in the field - or penalties apply.
There are seven different cane cutting divisions this year.
The male divisions are broken into the under 35 years, 35 to 55 years and over 55s.
Age will go out the window when the top eight male competitors progress to the final where they compete for the title of Australia's best hand cane cutter.
Women can compete in the Ladies Cup or the inaugural Ladies Novice - an event aimed at first timers. Teams of four can also compete in either the Swindley Memorial Cut, Top and Load or the inaugural Corporate Challenge.
Last year, more than 30 people from across Australia entered the unique competition.
"The Sweet Days, Hot Nights Festival is a uniquely Burdekin experience. There are very few places in Australia that even burn sugar cane anymore," Cr McLaughlin said.
"To see a one-hectare cane field fire as part of the first fire event, and then watch that same field be used during the Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships is something that people can't experience anywhere else in Australia."