School holiday activities
Enjoy the region’s beautiful sunny winter days these school holidays and get the kids outdoors for FREE holiday fun with Strolling Stories at the Seaforth Esplanade and Sarina Field of Dreams, outdoor board games at the Botanic Gardens and kids' activities along the water’s edge at River Wharves.
Make sure to check out all the activities and follow the Facebook pages of the facilities for more information and updates.
> Libraries
Bookings for these activities, other than drop-in days, are required via Eventbrite for all attendees.
Paint and Sip for Teens
Monday, June 24, 2pm to 3pm – Sarina Library
Tuesday, June 25, 10am to 11am – Mirani Library
Tuesday, June 25, 2pm to 3pm – Walkerston Library
Wednesday, June 26, 2pm to 3pm – Gordon White Library
Thursday, June 27, 2pm to 3pm – Dudley Denny City Library
With the help of our online arty database, Creative Bug, we will create an abstract floral painting for you to keep. Feel free to bring along your own flower arrangement if you prefer. All items supplied, including a yummy beverage. Bookings required
Holiday Craft for Kids
Tuesday, June 25, 10am to 11am – Walkerston Library
Tuesday, June 25, 2pm to 3pm – Mirani Library
Wednesday, June 26, 10am to 11am – Gordon White Library
Thursday, June 27, 11am to 12pm – Dudley Denny City Library
Friday, June 28, 10am to 11am – Sarina Library
Join us for some creative craft fun and leave with your very own dream catcher or weaving web. These activities are suitable for children aged five to 12 years and bookings are required via Eventbrite.
Games on the Lawns
Thursday, June 27, 10am to 12pm
Tropical Sun Lawn, Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens
Try out the library’s outdoors games with classics like Croquet, Giant Jenja, Crackers, Bocce Ball, Cricket and many others. Take up the challenge and enjoy a morning out. Facebook Event
Bedtime Stories
Thursday, June 27, 5pm to 6pm
Gordon White Library
Join us for an evening of family fun with stories, songs, rhymes and a craft activity. This is suitable for children aged two to 10 years and their families and bookings are required. Don’t forget to wear your pyjamas!!
Movie Matinee
Friday, June 28, 2pm to 4pm
Gordon White Library
Join us for an afternoon movie and popcorn. This event is for children aged five to 12 years old. Bookings required.
Drop-in Days: Concentration Station
Monday, June 24 to Friday, July 5
Mirani, Sarina and Walkerston Libraries
Refine your motor skills and focus with threading activities and LEGO creations. No need to book, just drop in and play! This event is suitable for children aged five to 12 years during library open hours. Facebook Event.
Drop-in Days: Board Games
Monday, July 1 to Friday, July 5
Dudley Denny City Library and Gordon White Library
Challenge your family and friends to a game of Battleships, Snakes & Ladders or Connect 4! There will be a wide range of traditional board games available. No need to book, just drop in and play! This event is suitable for children aged five to 12 years during library open hours. Facebook Event.
Libraries Out and About - Kids Fun at River Wharves
Wednesday, July 3, 9am to 11am
River Wharves, River Street, Mackay
Join us for some school holiday fun at the River Wharves, together with our friends from Active Squirtz and Carlie’s Fascinating Faces. Learn what Libraries have to offer, engage in an interactive Story Time with songs, rhymes and dance and explore a range of resources which support children’s physical development.
Library After Dark
Friday, July 5, 4pm to 8pm (movie from 6pm)
Gordon White Library
FREE movie night + FREE popcorn + FREE slushies + boardgames and a bit of chill time to finish off the holidays.
Presented by the Mackay Youth Council. Strictly for students 12 to 18 years. Book today!
Strolling Stories… along the Seaforth Esplanade
Until Friday, July 12
Seaforth Esplanade
Stroll along the Seaforth Esplanade and enjoy the beautiful picture book ‘One Remarkable Reef’. Facebook Event
Strolling Stories… at Sarina Field of Dreams
Friday, July 5 to Friday, July 19
Sarina Field of Dreams Parklands, Sarina
Stroll along the Seaforth Esplanade and enjoy the beautiful picture book ‘One Remarkable Reef’. Facebook Event
Strolling Stories… at Sarina Field of Dreams Parklands - LAUNCH
Saturday, July 6
Sarina Field of Dreams Parklands, Sarina
Meet under the mango tree at the Field of Dreams Parklands. Facebook Event
> Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens
All activities are free and require adult supervision. For bookings or questions, call 4952 7300.
BOOKED ACTIVITIES
Pot plant decoration and potting activity
Thursday, July 4, 10am to 11am – book today
Thursday, July 4, 2pm to 3pm – book today
Tropical Sun Lawn
Cost $5 per child
Get creative and decorate a pot to take home and help conserve a plant under pressure. All materials provided.
DROP-IN ACTIVITIES: NO BOOKING NEEDED
Outdoor Board Games with the Libraries team
Thursday, June 27, 10am to 12pm
Tropical Sun Lawn
Join the MRC Libraries team with FREE outdoor games on the beautiful Tropical Sun Lawn. No bookings necessary, just turn up and enjoy!
Fruits and seed display with the Garden Friends
Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29, 10am to 3pm
Botanic Gardens Meeting Room
Join the Garden Friends in the Meeting Room to explore some of the fruits and seeds from the Botanic Gardens and about why some plants have become at risk in the wild.
SELF GUIDED ACTIVITIES: NO BOOKING NEEDED
Nature detectives
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm
Drop into the Botanic Gardens Visitor Information Centre to collect free self-guided kids' activity sheets for:
- Tibbles Hunt in the Tropical Shade Garden – find the gnomes and decode messages
- ABC I-Spy in the Gardens
Suitable for kids aged five to ten years.
Any day or time
More self-guided print your own activity sheets can be found on their website.
REGULAR EVENTS
Free Guided Walks
Wednesdays, 4pm to 5pm (until end of June)
Fridays, 10am to 11am
Meet at the Botanic Gardens Visitor Information Centre
Discover the botanic gardens with your guide on a free guided walk. Find what’s flowering, some of our rare and special plants and perhaps some wildlife spotting. Group bookings are welcome and available upon request.
Bocce in the Gardens
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm (except public holidays)
Malta Garden’s Bocce Court
$5 for hire of bocce set
Did you know that bocce is one of the most popular and oldest games throughout European countries? Test your skills at our bocce court in the Malta Garden. Bocce sets are available to hire ($5 per set) from Botanic Gardens Visitor Information Centre. Bookings are not required.
Mackay Park Run
Every Saturday, 7am to 8am
Meet at Tamarind Carpark (near playground)
A 5km run/jog/walk put on by the community for the community every Saturday morning for all ages. Come together to enjoy our beautiful natural environment and get physically active in the process. Register at www.parkrun.com.au.
Falun Gong Classes
Saturdays, 9am to 11am
Tropical Sun Lawn
Falun Gong offers relaxation, meditation, inner peace and health through movement. Come along and experience a session in the beautiful surroundings of the Botanic Gardens. Free activity with no bookings required. Meet under the Mango tree (near café) on the Tropical Sun Lawn. All you need is a yoga mat or blanket and water bottle. For more information, email capcam@bigpond.com
> Mackay City and Waterfront
Kids Fun @ River Wharves
Wednesday, July 3, 9am to 11am
Rivers Wharves, River Street, Mackay
Don't miss the FREE kids' fun at River Wharves these school holidays with...
9am to 10am - Facepainting (Carlie’s Fascinating Faces Face Painting Mackay)
9.15am to 10am - Active Squirtz Mackay
10am to 10.30am - Mackay Regional Council Libraries 'Storytime'
10.30am to 11am - Mackay Regional Council Libraries 'Playtime'
For more information, visit Mackay City and Waterfront's Facebook page.
City Heart Friday - FREE kid's activities
Friday, July 5, from 4.30pm
Join in the FREE school holiday fun for the kids with facepainting, kids' games and live music! Stay in the city afterwards for dinner and shout the family ice-cream.
> Sarina Sugar Shed
Special kids tour of the Sarina Sugar Shed
10.30am every day of the school holidays
Cost: Adults at children’s prices $15 (bookings essential)
This fun, interactive session focuses on the kids, with the added bonus of adults being welcome at kids' prices!
During the 45-minute tour, the kids will discover the growing and harvesting of the sugar cane and complete a hunt for the critters that live in our sugar cane patch. They’ll enter our miniature sugar mill to see how sugar cane is crushed, and sample deliciously sweet sugar cane juice straight from our miniature mill, 'Bill the Mill Junior’.
Special stickers help the kids to understand the machines that work in the process from turning juice into sugar – they can touch and feel the different stages of the production from the bagasse to the sugar and taste the molasses! They’ll also receive a free information sheet at the end and a quick, fun quiz. Finally, everyone gets to a chance to taste our non-alcoholic ginger beer brewed onsite, and freshly spun fairy floss.
For more information or to book a tour online visit sarinasugarshed.com.au.
> Sarina Youth Centre
A variety of school holiday activities are on offer for youth aged ten to 21 years. Bookings are required with 12 spaces available per program. Contact Sarina Youth Centre on 4961 9277 or email sarinayouthcentre@mackay.qld.gov.au. Keep up to date, follow them on Facebook.
WEEK ONE
Monday, June 24 – Board games
Tuesday, June 25 – Recipe for a healthy headspace
Wednesday, June 26 – Malachi Cup Day 1
Thursday, June 27 – Deadly Choices Community Day
Friday, June 28 – Malachi Cup Day 3
WEEK TWO
Monday, July 1 – Coconut Leaf Weaving (Crafts for Zulai Wan)
Tuesday, July 2 - Cooking Strong (Learn how to cook delicious meals with the PPH Team)
Wednesday, July 3 - Pool Tournament
Thursday, July 4 - Movie & Popcorn
Friday, July 5 – Paper Mache
Contact: Mackay Regional Council
Phone: 1300 MACKAY (622 529)
Email: council@mackay.qld.gov.au