The Father’s Day celebration transformed Collins Avenue, Tanks Arts Centre and the Cairns Botanic Gardens precinct, bringing together more than 200 market stalls, live performances, local food and activities for families.
At the Botanic Gardens, visitors took part in circus skills, basket weaving and watercolour workshops, while roaming entertainment and face painting added to the family program. Local acts including the Cairns Choral Society, Cairns Taiko and Lontana appeared on the Flecker Gardens Stage, before musician and storyteller Dr David “Bindi” Hudson closed that program.
Tanks Arts Centre hosted the final day of the interactive Catch of the Day! exhibition, swing dance sessions and a performance by the FNQ Big Band. Country artist Casey Barnes also drew a large crowd during the festival’s final weekend.
The Esplanade Main Stage featured VOiiiD Collective, Blusher, Empress and Zipporah, while The Next Wave showcased emerging regional performers. The Miss Tee Ketu Band delivered the final performance of the 2026 program.
Council’s attendance figure relates to Carnival on Collins and was published in its festival wrap-up on 8 September.
Illustration disclosure: The featured image is an AI-generated editorial illustration and is not a photograph of the reported festival.
