Help for Melon Festival with “no melons”

As Queensland deals with the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi, Premier Anna Bligh said flood affected areas have not been forgotten.

The Premier announced that two major regional events hit by floods will receive extra funding, including the Chinchilla Melon Festival (17 - 20 February) which finds itself in the unusual situation of having no melons.

“Chinchilla is known as the ‘Melon Capital’ of Australia, but Festival organisers faced a major headache when floods wiped out most of the region’s crop,” Ms Bligh said.

“We’re stepping in with extra assistance through the Events Queensland Regional Development Program (EQRDP) to transport donated melons from interstate.

“The good news is that the full program of events can now go ahead, including melon skiing, melon bungy, melon Ironman, melon Chariot, pip Spitting, and the famous melon head smashing,” she said.

Celebrated biennially in February, the Melon Festival attracts over 10,000 people and the last event gained international media coverage in Turkey, England, and USA.

Premier Anna Bligh also announced a funding boost for the Gympie Heart of Gold Film Festival which attracts 4,000 people and is Australia’s only dedicated family oriented short film festival.

“Because of the floods the local businesses of Gympie have been unable to provide the sponsorship or in-kind support they would typically offer.

“We’re working with the organizers to ensure that this year’s Festival is not hit with a funding shortfall,” she said.

The EQRDP has also extended its deadline for funding applications under its next round of funding (Round 20) by three weeks, and will now close on 4 March.

Events scheduled to be held between 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2012 are eligible to apply.

“We understand that recent flooding has had wide ranging impacts across the state and hope that an additional three weeks will enable organisers to submit an application for their events.

“I’d encourage people to get along to the Melon Festival, the Film Festival and any other regional events they can manage as a way of helping regional communities get back on their feet,” Ms Bligh said.

MEDIA: Premier’s Office on 07 3224 4500