21 February 2012
The sparks will fly when Childers blacksmith Lachie McConnell goes into action at the Lamplight Bazaar in Maryborough on Saturday night.
“I will be making mini-horse shoes and lamp hooks,” the 72 year old said.
“Working at night is great, the red hot steel really stands out and it has a different sound as it is hammered into shape.”
Mr McConnell is also bringing a rope making machine.
“Kids will be able to make their own skipping rope, and maybe I’ll have a competition to see who is the best skipper,” he said.
Displays and stalls will be set up at the first Lamplight Bazaar of the year in Maryborough’s historical Wharf Street between 5pm to 9pm on Saturday, February 25.
Other attractions include fire twirling workshops, historical displays, costumed characters, live music and entertainment, homemade food and craft and quirky torchlight tours.
Guides will take people on a Nightwatchman’s tour of Portside, spinning yarns about sailors, smugglers, brothels and opium dens when Maryborough was one of Australia’s largest and busiest ports.
Exhibits will come alive on a “Night at the Museum” tour of the Maryborough Military and Colonial Museum, and Gatakers ArtSpace will host a series of musical and artistic performances and exhibitions.
There is no cost to have fun at the Lamplight Bazaar while the tours (Nightwatchman’s,
Portside Pub Tour and Night at the Museum) will cost $7.50 a person.
On Sunday, February 26, the fun will continue with steam trains, traditional children’s games and amusements and brass bands in Queens Park while river cruises will be operating on the Mary.
The Lamplight Bazaar is the first in a series of events that piggy back on the Poppins mania generated by the smash hit Poppins musical now showing in Brisbane.
Fraser Coast Regional Council secured $20,000 in Events Queensland funding to market Maryborough’s heritage offerings and its unique connection with Mary Poppins across south-east Queensland.
As part of the campaign, an open invitation has been issued to residents in Brisbane to spend a “Weekend with Mary” in the birthplace of the creator of the famous nanny.
A “Weekend with Mary” will be held on the last full weekend of the month, and includes a new Lamplight Bazaar in the historic Portside Precinct on the Saturday evening as well as a host of quirky tours and family friendly activities.
The Mary Poppins Festival and Weekend with Mary event is benefiting from funding received under the Events Queensland Regional Development Program (EQRDP).
The EQRDP is an investment program designed to extend the flow of economic and social benefits of events to regional Queensland.
The latest round of funding brings the total number of events supported under the Events Queensland Regional Development Program to 856 and a total investment of $18.3 million since it began in 2001.
