WHEN the Festival of Horsepower started a few years ago, the concept of jointly promoting equine power and high-performance engine power was a bit of a novelty but a great idea.
I can’t recall where the concept originated but it was almost certainly local and may have come from Council’s marketing staff of the day.
Fortunately, the idea stuck and has well and truly caught on.
This year’s show of horsepower features two of the original events. It kicked off last weekend with the Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway. The other is the Ipswich Cup at Ipswich Turf Club on June 22 and is one of the biggest social events of the year. About 13,000 are expected.
While Queensland Raceway has been part of the festival since the beginning, events have changed over time. On June 29 and 30 this year, a round of the National Racing Car Championships called 2 Days of Thunder should draw crowds.
Two extra events to come under the umbrella of Festival of Horsepower this year are the Queensland Karting Championships at Willowbank and the Western Star harness race meeting at Marburg.
By creatively combining these events, it puts Ipswich at the forefront of attracting visitors from outside the city.
Next month, SPARK Ipswich, which is a Council run and funded event, lights up the city centre and features projections onto 143 Brisbane Street and St Paul’s Church. It was seen as a part replacement event for the former Ipswich Festival which ceased around the time Council went into administration.
While visually spectacular, there has been some criticism about the rumoured high cost of SPARK and relatively low attendance when compared to other Council run or supported events.
Got something to share? Contact Inside Ipswich [email protected].
