By NIKKI TODD
Pic 1: Guitarist Bruce (Pixie) Alden. Pictures by Nikki Todd.
Pic 2: And the Festival begins.
Pic 3: Getting things underway are Moti Levy (Wake and Surf), Silver Seastar, Bruce (Pixie) Alden, Starbella.
Pic 4: Ross and David Beedle of Sharp Motors.
Pic 5: Festival president Jim Wilson with Starbella (Painted Faces).
Pic 6: Chef Bill Dawson cooking up prawns and spanner crabs.
Pic 7: Katie Millar and her children Lake, Keira and Byron.
Pic 8: Enjoying the festival are Lee Swindells and Don McDonald of Banora Point.
Pic 9: The White family of Palm Beach Nathan, Bailey, Jai and Renee.
Pic 10: Lubica and Loui Piskyloric of Elanora.
Pic 11: Lynn Gilmore and Shirley Telford of Tweed Heads enjoy the festival.
Pic 12: Silver Seastar and Starbella of Painted Faces.
pic 13: Having fun are Khateri and Litisha Miller, Steve McArthur and Matayus Miller.
THOUSANDS of people made the most of the glorious sunny weather last Sunday and took a stroll down the banks of the Tweed River as part of the inaugural Octopus’s Garden Festival.
Established to promote the spectacular scenery and surrounding businesses of the Tweed River at Tweed Heads, organisers declared the event a roaring success with some traders reporting their best Sunday takings ever.
Festival president Jim Wilson, who heads local legal firm Beacon Law, said organisers were very pleased with the event and were already planning for a bigger and better festival next year.
“The feedback we got was all of the traders, the restaurants had the best Sunday they’ve ever had, it was fantastic,’’ Mr Wilson said.
“And some of the other traders and a whole range of other people said this is something that has got to be made bigger and better.
“We will need more money to do that because we did this on the smell of an oily rag. But there is tremendous enthusiasm and I’m sure if the traders stay involved as they are, and more traders get involved, then that area can increase its opportunities and increase employment which is really the only reason I get involved.’’
Mr Wilson said more than 1500 people attended the festival which included activities along the foreshore from Mennitis Seafood along the Trawler Wharf, past the Ivory Hotel and as far as Drift Tackle and Takeaways on Kennedy Drive.
“This really is the Golden Triangle on the southern Gold Coast,’’ Mr Wilson said.
“It goes from Kirra Surf to Point Danger and back to Kennedy Drive – that area in there is one of the most beautiful areas of the world, it is just magnificent.
“One of the great things about the Tweed River is you can actually sit out over the water – you are on the water, whereas it is a bit hard to sit out on the water on the Gold Coast; that is one of the beauties of having a river and a wharf and a marina and it is underutilised and under-publicised.’’
