As I start writing I realize it is my birthday, which happened in another continent, so far away in space and time. My immediate early life experiences of pleasure in quiet surroundings were marred by the awareness of merciless war destruction and killing somewhere else in the world. Newspapers, magazines and cinemas showed the horror of a war magnified by the implicit morbidity of heroes obliterating villains. War, 71 years later, remains an instrument of greed and food for the media reports that make it more versatile by calling it the ubiquitous and all-encompassing 'war on terror'.
My visit to the Cairns Winter Solstice Festival 2008 discovered a pleasant contrast, a completely different atmosphere. I came across thousands of young people who teach us a lesson of freedom, togetherness and extremely kind openness and acceptance of those they've never seen before, regardless of age or appearance. All of this took place among the trees in a large area of the bush embraced by the Herbert River, energized by an exuberance of colour and the strong sound of music.
The two most prominent characteristics of this festival were that whole families had the opportunity to enjoy healthy outdoors living and that respect for each other and for nature as a whole was paramount. Babies were protected by earplugs and children wore earmuffs while parents enjoyed high-decibel music performances. No litter could be seen anywhere and adherence to a fire ban was fully carried out.
The whole crowd as well as the organizers deserve praise for such an important event of the Tablelands' calendar.
Al Gallo
Webmaster
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