General News
7 March, 2020
Cooktown Discovery Festival combined with Cooktown Expo
The Cooktown Discovery Festival has now been combined with Cooktown Expo 2020.
The much loved annual Cooktown Discovery Festival is still going ahead this year, but it’s now going to be held in July as part of Cooktown Expo 2020.
The Discovery Festival, traditionally held as a stand-alone event in June, has been incorporated into the three week Cooktown Expo 2020 event, which is focused on commemorating the 250th anniversary of James Cook's meeting with local Indigenous people in Cooktown in 1770.
The Discovery Festival will run from July 24 to 26, which is the middle weekend of the Expo. “The Discovery Festival is such a popular event, and we are excited to be able to include it as part of Cooktown Expo 2020,” Cook Shire Council Creative Director Vanessa Gillen said. “The Discovery Festival will feature many of the usual popular events, such as the grand parade, children's rides, competitions and the re-enactment of the Guugu Yimithirr's meeting with James Cook.”
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the Cooktown Discovery Festival was a highlight on Tropical North Queensland’s events calendar. “Now in its fifth decade, this festival drives visitors to Cooktown to celebrate the town’s history and heritage
“People want experiences that they can’t find anywhere else.”
Cooktown Expo 2020 starts on July 17 with the Reconciliation Rocks Festival, which includes a free concert featuring Troy Cassar-Daley, Busby Marou and Mau Power, and continues with the Discovery Festival from July 24 to 26 and finishes with the Endeavour Festival from August 1 to 4.
The re-enactment will be held on all three weekends, while the HM Bark Endeavour replica will arrive on July 25 and leave on August 4.
For more details on the Discovery Festival and the full three-week Expo program go to www.cooktown2020.com
