The tiny town of Tara in Queensland’s Western Downs this AUGUST is set to see its population quadruple with thousands of camel party enthusiasts, festival fans and travellers from across Australia for the return of the Tara Festival of Culture and Camel Races.
Australia’s most loved country music identity Lee Kernaghan will take centre stage as the headline act for Australia’s biggest camel party, 2 – 4 AUGUST 2024.
‘Boy from the Bush’ Lee Kernaghan said, “I can’t wait to bring our touring show to Tara. It’s going to be an epic event, from the camel races to the yabby races, the country markets and the great line up of live music and entertainment throughout the weekend. I reckon it’ll be the centre of the universe.
“I wrote about Tara in my song ‘There Ain’t Nothing Like A Country Crowd’, so I’m really looking forward to performing that one in the town that inspired the song.”
Country duo Zac & George and Australia’s Best Country Music DJ, Dee Jaye Bux will join the party on the main stage for the festival’s Saturday night entertainment once the camels leave the track.
The usual 2 years ‘between drinks’ for the 2 – 4 August 2024 return of the festival combining Culture + Camels + Camping has seen organisers already fielding a torrent of requests for tickets and camping ahead of tickets going on sale Monday 25th March 9AM AEST.
Skyrocketing attendance in recent years has seen the festival become one of the most popular camel races in Australia, highly sought for its mix of camels, culture and camping.
Organisers anticipate in excess of 12,000 people from across Australia vying for tickets to the 2024 edition of the festival.
Festival President Kerry Kelly said, “The people of our town set out to hold the 3-day festival as a way to put our town on the map and to put on an incredibly positive and fun weekend that would always be associated with Tara. “Since our first event in 2001, we’ve grown to be a significant event on Queensland’s event calendar and it’s all still run by the passionate team of locals who love and are proud of Tara.” said Ms Kelly.
The event’s excessive full name ‘Tara Festival of Culture and Camel Races’ is a giveaway to the extravagance of the program, which delivers an intoxicating mix of professional camel races on the track and non-stop multi-cultural entertainment off the track.
Kicking off with a carnival of colour and cultural excitement on the Friday opening night, the weekend continues with camel races every hour, yabby races, two big stages with rolling cultural acts and live music headline acts, roving entertainers, a big kids zone and fireworks rounding out a full day into the night.
Ms Kelly added, “Tara has a population of under 2,000 and our little community are proud in what we have achieved in continuing to build this event.
The festival’s monumental growth and success is the pride of Tara’s small community, now one of the biggest gatherings in the Darling Downs Region.
The 2022 festival was the largest crowd to ever be seen in Tara. Caravanners, campers and day-trippers descended on the town, swelling the population by four times the town’s size and the festival recording an estimated 20,000 in total attendance over the three days.
The Tara Festival of Culture and Camel Races is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
TICKETS ON SALE 25th March 2024 at 9AM AEST
WHERE IS TARA?
Tara is located just three and a half hours west of Brisbane and two hours west of Toowoomba.
FESTIVAL DATES: 2 AUGUST – 4 AUGUST 2024
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Festival Marketing & PR Coordinator
Sally Bird
M 0488 273 353
E sally@kristahauritz.com.au