Q: Where should I stay?
A: Cairns is fairly small, so most accommodation places are close to the action. Any accommodation in the CBD will be within walking distance from most festival locations. The Tanks Arts Centre is the furthest away (30-60 minutes walk, 10 minutes drive), so you may want to consider alternative transport to get there on the Sunday.
A: Please consider supporting the businesses that support us. Hilton Cairns and the Mantra Group are sponsors of the festival. Please refer to the About Cairns / accommodation page.
Q: When should I fly into and out of Cairns?
A: The core dates of the festival are 5, 6, 7 and 8 July 2012. We advise you to fly in at least a day before, and fly out the 9th earliest. Last year, many visitors said they regretted that they did not add a couple of days at least to their stay to see the sights. Cairns and surrounds are beautiful, so why not make the most of it while you are here?
Q: Should I bring my ukulele?
A: YES! There will be workshops, jams, and of course the world record attempt for which you’ll need your ukulele. If you have the “Ukulele Club Songbook” as published by Sasha, bring it along!
Q: Who’s playing at the festival?
A: Keep an eye out on our performers page here on the web site and sign up to this blog to find out about artists as they are announced. Like last year, performers are coming from all over the world, and musical styles are diverse. We’re also on Facebook, and we post regular updates there as well.
Q: When will tickets to the Tanks Arts Centre be for sale?
A: The tickets for the Tanks Arts Centre are now on sale. Early bird tickets until the end of May.
Q: The workshop I wanted to attend is booked out. Can you please squeeze me in?
A: Sorry but capacity to all workshops is limited. We cannot make exceptions.
Q: I would like to perform at next year’s festival, how do I apply?
A: Applications for the 2013 festival will open within a month of the 2012 festival.
When will we know the dates for 2012?
Does the festival usually start with a Friday night event, or does it start earlier in the day? What about the last event on Sunday? I’m not going to have a lot of extra free time, so I’m trying to decide if I should arrive at the last minute and stay a couple of days afterward, or if I should come early and leave Sunday evening.
Update: we have added an extra tour day to the festival program on the Thursday. If you arrive on Friday, you will still get a chance to see all of the artists perform though.
As said above, we recommend you arrive a day early. There will be a daytime activity with concerts on the Friday, starting in the morning. The Sunday event finishes around 8.30pm. So ideally, if you don’t have much time, you arrive Thursday evening or take the earliest flight on Friday, and leave Sunday late or Monday early.