Barrier Reef Childcare’s float was crowned best in parade at the Discovery Festival last weekend.
AFTER taking out the coveted Best in Parade award at last weekend’s Cooktown Discovery Festival, the Barrier Reef Childcare team are looking forward to spending their $1000 winnings on something for the children.
“We did well, we were so super excited when we won,” childcare service manager Terry Parsons said.
“We have been talking with all the children about what they’d like us to spend the $1000 prize on, and so far we have the most votes for a doll house.”
Ms Parsons said the float was a team effort, with staff and community coming together to produce an amazing result around the parade theme of “our backyard”.
“We as a team talked about it a lot and talked with the children and came up with our float name ‘little kids, big backyard’ because really for most of our people up here, our backyard is the whole of Cape York,” she said.
The float truck and driver were supplied by Cooktown Bargain Barn, with childcare mums Louise Sumption and Simone Riley-Wason painting the murals, staff partner Paul Wilkes providing expertise on the signpost and local papier mache extraordinaire Annette Lee building Pumba the feral pig, the snake and glittery reef fish.
“We are blessed to have such community-spirited, kind and talented people among us,” Ms Parsons said.
“The whole team worked really hard, people were coming in on weekends and staying after their shifts, staff and community members donating their own time to making it amazing.”
Ms Parsons said the team had been quietly confident they were onto something different with their unique take on the parade theme, and were stoked their efforts paid off with the grand prize.
“Some people did barbecues and backyard cricket, we thought we might be onto something because ours was a bit different.
“Going down the street, you know so many faces, you’re waving at people and they’re waving back – that’s what small towns are all about and we can’t wait to do it again in 2024.”
