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It's a magical mary old time

Get ready to experience magical, madcap Mary Poppins mania - all rolled into one very special week this July.  Held in honour of Maryborough born author Pamela Travers, the 2010 Mary Poppins Festival will be an explosion of colour, art, culture and “practically perfect” fun for everyone.

The signature event is the Mary Poppins Festival in the Park on Sunday 4 July from 10am to 4pm where Maryborough’s heritage streetscapes will transform into scenes celebrating the magic and mystery of the Mary Poppins novels.

The entertainment includes professional street theatre performers, jugglers, puppets and magicians. There will be steam train rides, Penny Farthing novelty races, vintage bicycles, cars and motorbikes, story telling tent and old fashioned games.  Workshops include umbrella decorating, pop-up cards, and kite-making.

A host of characters familiar to millions of fans around the world  will come to life, including the Bird Lady, the Chimney Sweep and Admiral Boom.

The hilarious Great Nanny Challenge and the Chimney Sweep Challenge are other highlights of the festival.  Nannies and would be nannies of all ages are invited to prove their pram-pushing prowess in  madcap races, while the Chimney Sweep Challenge is a series of contests to test skills in the fine art of chimney sweeping.

To nominate call 4190 5809 or go to www.marypoppinsfestival.com.au.

Dress up and win in the Grand Parade.   Bring along your most beautiful and unusual decorated umbrella or dress up as your favourite story book figure and join the Mary Poppins characters and street theatre gang in the Grand Parade to win great prizes. 

All festival goers can also go in the major lucky prize draw of  Mary Poppins Musical Package including tickets to the premiere in Melbourne on 29 July, backstage passes to meet the cast and two nights accommodation.

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 Go Nanny Go! 

Nannies and would be nannies on the Fraser Coast and beyond are invited to enter Maryborough’s Great Nanny Challenge at the Mary Poppins Festival in the Park on 4 July.

The call is also out for men and boys to take part in the Chimney Sweep Challenge, a series of theatre sports contests to gradually eliminate all contenders until only the champion chimney sweep and his broom is left standing.

It will follow the Great Nanny Challenge, which will be staged in Wharf Street from noon.   There will also be a nanny race for children.

Nominations for the Great Nanny race close on 1 July and can be made to on 4190 5809 or email events@frasercoast.qld.gov.au. Nominations will be accepted on the day at the Information Tent.

Prospective Nannies who wish to prove their pram-pushing prowess by entering the Great Nanny Challenge should bear in mind that the challenge is not a free-for-all and strict rules apply!

Contenders must wear a traditional nanny uniform and must push a traditional pram complete with a traditional baby.  Other rules include no running, no pushing, no jostling of prams or nannies, no surreptitious sticking with hatpins, no striking or prodding with umbrellas and no slanderous sledging.

The Mary Poppins Festival in the Park will spill across Maryborough’s riverside parks and the heritage Wharf Street precinct on Sunday 4 July from 10am to 4pm.

This year’s festival, an initiative of the Fraser Coast Regional Council, has even more entertainment, free activities, fantastic prizes, and children’s workshops, rides and games.

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Movies, markets and more madcap fun for Mary Poppins

There is a host of zany and fun events on during the Mary Poppins Festival week, including:

Mary Poppins Market Day  - 1 July
Mary Poppins characters,  puppet show, rides and entertainment will help create a very special Market Day.

Steam Train Sunday, 27 
Maryborough's traditional monthly Sunday in the Park takes on a distinct Mary Poppins flavour  to kick off the Mary Poppins Festival week. Heritage listed Queens Park will come alive with steam trains, brass bands, jumping castles, food stalls and more.

Maryborough Heritage Art Festival - from 29 June
There is a Mary Poppins component to this annual event which this year promises to be the biggest in its history.  View a wonderful selection of work by many gifted and some well known artists in the Maryborough City Hall.

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It won’t rain on Mary’s parade!

The 2010 Mary Poppins Festival will go on – rain, hail or shine.  It will be relocated to the Brolga Theatre in case of bad weather.

Festival coordinator Lisa Stephenson said the Brolga Theatre had kindly offered the whole complex, including the 900 seat auditorium, foyer and outside area as an alternative venue.

“While it won’t have quite the same atmosphere as Portside’s heritage streetscapes and parklands, most of the activities and entertainment, including the nanny races, performances, and many rides and games, will still be able to be staged,” Ms Stephenson said.

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 A merry morning tea for Marys 

If your name is Mary then head to the Mary Poppins Festival in the Park to celebrate with the Proud Marys.

The group will hold its annual Mary Morning Tea, as part of the Mary Poppins Festival in the Park on 4 July, starting at 10am in the Mary River Parklands, beside the Bond Store Museum.

All people called Mary will receive a free morning tea while others can make a gold coin donation.

Everyone is invited to meet the Mary Poppins characters and enjoy a morning of entertainment featuring Vince Henderson on the bagpipes, Tracy Wright and the Maryborough Youth Choir and Fraser Coast Calisthenics .

The Proud Marys is an association for women all over the world whose name contains the name Mary or any derivative of Mary. It was launched in Maryborough in 1999 in honour of Mary Poppins author Pamela Travers, who born in the city in 1899. 

The group's annual Mary Morning Tea was the catalyst for the Mary Poppins Festival week, believed to be the world’s only Mary Poppins Festival.  Members were also the driving force behind the Mary Poppins statue, erected in Richmond Street in 2005 outside the author’s birthplace.

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"Practically Perfect" day for children

Puppets, magicians, camel rides, Mary Poppins characters, free games, and a mystery treasure trail – it all adds up to a day of magical wonder for children at this Sunday’s Mary Poppins Festival in the Park.

By following the clues and completing the magical Mystery Treasure Trail, children will go in the draw to win a family holiday.

The treasure trial is available on the day from the Information Stand on the corner of Wharf and Richmond streets.

A host of other activities are planned to create a supercalifragilistic day of fun for children including traditional children’s games, and sidewalk art, craft and puppet making workshops.

Children can try their hands at making kites, and turning umbrellas into works of art.   There will also be face painting, rides and slides, story reading, and steam trains rides. Dancing marionette puppets, a performing jester performing tricks on a unicycle, juggling and magic shows are part of a packed program throughout the day.

Young ladies can take part in the children’s nanny race, while boys can battle it out to the champion junior chimney sweep. Children are also invited to dress up as their favourite book character or bring their decorated umbrellas and join in the grand parade at 11.30am.   There are great prizes to be won.

The Mary Poppins Festival in the Park will spill across Maryborough’s riverside parks and the heritage Wharf Street precinct on Sunday 5 July from 10am to 4pm.

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