![Improvements have been made to the 2024 NQ Field Day, after moving to Reid Park. Supplied: rotary north queensland field days Improvements have been made to the 2024 NQ Field Day, after moving to Reid Park. Supplied: rotary north queensland field days](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/217644762/57903df5-566f-4c10-b7ac-8cee17c10955.jpg/r0_96_1875_1154_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Lessons have been learned over the past few years at the NQ Field Days in Townsville.
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Last year's event was the first since 2016 after the 2018 event was cancelled by the organisers, and the 2020 event didn't go ahead due to COVID.
Now with a new committee, a new venue and with the event back in the hands of rotary groups from across Townsville, the 2024 event is shaping up to be one of the best.
Current president of Rotary Townsville Ken Mackney said that the Far North Field Days had experienced a few stops and starts over the past 7 years.
"Prior to COVID there was a private committee running the event, they last ran a successful event in 2016 because in 2018 they pulled the pin on the field day at the last minute," he said.
"In 2019 Townsville City Council (TCC) approached Rotary to take over the running of the field days and we were organising the 2020 event but then COVID stopped us."
Prior to 2022, the field days had been held at prison reserve in Stuart and then TCC asked Rotary to move the field day to Reid Park where the V8 supercars run, to be closer to the city.
Mr Mackney said thanks to feedback from exhibitors the 2024 event will look different.
"Last year we had to use Reid Park for parking, which meant people had to cross Boundary Street and walk the length of the pits before they could enter the gate,' he said.
"We got a lot of negative feedback due to people having to walk that far, so next year we will have two gates."
Along with the new entrances, Mr Mackney said there were other changes the committee were making to the 2024 event.
"Some of the site sizes will be larger, there will be less rows and and an extra row of extra large sites just outside of pit-lane, those sites will be visible to people driving along Boundary street," he said.
"We are expecting those sites to be very popular."
"Last year we had about 180 exhibitors and 200 sites and next year we will be using some new areas that we didn't use last year,"
Mr Mackney also said that all money raised by running the field days goes back into the community.
"The volunteers that work on the day, don't get paid instead we record how many shifts they have done and then that money goes back to their Rotary club which then makes its way back to the community,"
The 2024 NQ Field Days is happening 4-5 April at Reid Park in Townsville.