Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the weekend I got to join our local community in celebrating the return of the Beenleigh cane parade and gala ball. After many years of absence, the cane festival was back sweeter than ever thanks to the hard work of the Rotary Club of Beenleigh and with the support of Logan City Council. Over 2,000 people made their way into the heart of Beenleigh to celebrate this wonderful event, with over 50 floats from community groups, schools and businesses the feature. As one of the judges of the parade, I, along with the other judges, found it particularly difficult to pick a winner, because everyone had gone above and beyond in entering some very colourful and creative floats, but congratulations to the SS Walrus and also to the Beenleigh Garden Club in particular for theirs.

The cane festival is a huge part of Beenleigh's history, and for many members of the community it brought back memories from when they were much younger. For the newer members of the community, it gave them a chance to learn about the history of Beenleigh and our iconic cane industry. As the sun set over the local cane fields the Beenleigh Events Centre opened their doors to host the gala ball, which offered the finest of all things local. After another challenging year it was wonderful to see everybody glam up and enjoy a night of fun and frivolity. It was an honour to be involved in the revival of this event, and I thank everybody involved.