The 2024 Cooktown Discovery Festival grand parade participants were as diverse as they were engaging with the big crowd lining Charlotte Street on 15 June. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
From a beautiful performance by Hope Vale’s barefoot ballerinas and school band to open the event, to crowds lining Charlotte Street for the grand parade, the 2024 Cooktown Discovery Festival has been hailed as resounding show of the region’s resilience.
Just six months after the devastation Tropical Cyclone Jasper caused in the area, thousands of locals and visitors turned out in force to celebrate the ongoing recovery and Cooktown’s rich history.
Some grand parade entries were harder to miss than others. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Cook Shire Council Mayor Robyn Holmes praised the organisation’s events team for putting on a fantastic event that was accompanied by perfect dry season weather.
“I think they’ve put in a massive effort, because you’ve got a variety of artists and a variety of stallholders here who aren’t all locals, and the acts here who are all very different,” she said.
“It takes a lot of effort to get them all to Cooktown.”
Mayor Holmes said part of this year’s festival was focused on celebrating the town and region’s turnaround following the December 2023 natural disaster.
“It’s definitely been a bounce back,” she said.
“We’ve had small bounce back events in Bloomfield and Rossville, so this one is incorporating some of the bounce back side of it for the Cooktown community.”
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services provided a popular way for grand parade spectators to beat the heat in Cooktown on Saturday. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Victorian visitors Scott and Ellen Hempstead, who stopped in Cooktown for the festival en route to Panjinka, said they were stunned by the scope of the event.
“This has been just great so far,” Ms Hempstead said after the grand parade on 15 June.
“There’s so much to do and the community just seems like a wonderful place.”
Following Saturday’s grand parade, the Barrier Reef Community Childcare Centre was crowned the overall winner of the best float for a creative contribution involving miniature, homemade emergency services vehicles.
Mother-and-daughter duo Sharlene Leeson and Chloe Daff are understandably happy after finishing the Big Run for Little Athletics on 15 June. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Torah, Danielle, Shane and Saxon Furmage were up early to ensure they didn’t miss any of the Cooktown Discovery Festival action. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Natalie Dooley and Ava Croatto give Weipa’s Zendaya Kemp-Gibson an enchanted braid makeover on day one of the Cooktown Discovery Festival. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Nerissa Brooker, Laycee Graham and Ian Macduff came up from Mackay to participate in the 2024 Cooktown Discovery Festival. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Rachelle Darby, Jason Bridge and Jaki Gardner catch up in the festival village on Friday afternoon. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Cheryl and Heather Cannon made the trip from Hope Vale to support the community’s barefoot ballerinas and school band open the festival on Friday. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Joanne Bourke and Heath Bell get ready for the action to get under way on 14 June. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Manuela Fischer, Katelyn Greaves and Maree Coulson were all smiles representing Cape York Natural Resource Management at the festival. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Sophie Kiernan is congratulated by Tony Niarchos for her winning effort only an hour after finishing nightshift at the Cooktown Hospital on Saturday morning. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Cook Shire Council Mayor Robyn Holmes and Leanne Rayner were front and centre as judges for the Cooktown Horse Sports Association horse show. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Teala Hall and Tilly take time out for a photo before the horse show gets under way. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Peta and Veronika Buhmann – aka B1 and B2 – made sure no one missed them in a sea on competitors on Charlotte Street. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Jules, Joubert and Orlando Bredillet show their support for runners on Saturday. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Blayne, Angie and Lakhana Jenkins were out and about early on Saturday morning taking Bella Poppy for a walk while they watched the Big Run for Little Athletics. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Leanne Buckle and Lizzie Bon say they loved the Crackup Sisters' daily shows. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
The Gibson family makes the trip from Hope Vale each year to watch the festival. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
The festival was a surprise for visiting Victorians Debie and Cameron Guy, who arrived in Cooktown unaware it was on during their visit. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
John and Jan Tuck escaped the Melbourne cold weather by travelling north to take part in the 2024 Cooktown Discovery Festival. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
Cooktown Horse Sports Association president Sarah Frew and Pistol. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Senior Constable Tom Wilson and Dylan Harrigan threw some emergency services support behind competitors at the Little Run for Big Athletics. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Cooktown Horse Sports Association secretary Christine Warren and volunteer Jeneen Clark made sure things ran smoothly at the horse show at Cooktown Racecourse on 15 June. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Althea Turner and Fourex get ready to head into the arena for the junior led class on Saturday. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
It was impossible to miss Zara and her owner, Bradley Smith, at the dog park. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Jamie Powell and Luna get ready to strut their stuff at the dog show on Sunday morning. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Earnest Kulka, Patrick Kulka-Bernard and Samuel Lyall enjoy a day out in the Cooktown sun. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
Coleridge Bowen entertains the grand parade crowd with his guitar on Saturday. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
Myles Higgins and Lamington were just one of dozens of owner-dog teams at the Cooktown Horse Sports Association dog show on 16 June. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
The Sassy Catz, who hail from Cairns and Kuranda, have been wowing crowds together for more than two decades. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service wildlife officer Jeff Lewis and ranger Josh Smith spread the Crocwise message to patrons in the festival village. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
Rohan Wright, Jesse Worth and Erin O'Shea found a cool spot to watch the festival performances. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
Cape York Automotive Muster co-ordinator Lauren Boyer shows off Voodoo Queen, which was transformed from matte black to an unmissable hot pink camouflage ahead of this year’s event. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Pat Fitzgerald celebrates after conquering Grassy Hill with her four-legged running pal, Skippa, to claim silver in the Masters division of the Big Run for Little Athletics in Cooktown on Saturday morning. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
