Chill out in the City’s Urban Paddock during Beef Australia

Published on 04 May 2018

The Rockhampton CBD is transforming into a paddock of its own during Beef Australia with life-size bulls, live music, markets and of course a live feed into Beef’s centre ring.

Trading grass for artificial turf and campfires with city lights, the pop-up ‘Urban Paddock’  will be located at the Riverside end of Denham Street from Monday through to Saturday 12 May.

Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow said the pop-up initiative will bring the excitement of Beef Australia beyond the Showgrounds and into the CBD with free buses operating daily between the two locations.

“This is such a fantastic time for our Region, not only do we have the opportunity to showcase our beef industry on a global scale, but our hotels and cafes are full and the place is buzzing,” Mayor Strelow said.

“A lot has changed in our CBD, and across our Region for that matter, since the last Beef Expo three years ago, so we can’t wait to have visitors return to see how far we have come during this time.

“The Urban Paddock is just another way to celebrate the progressive vibrancy and culture of Rockhampton and our traditional role as the Beef Capital of Australia.”

The six colourful bull statues have already taken up position along the Riverside earlier this week. The statues are a joint initiative of Council and Beef Australia, with each bull uniquely painted by local school students and education providers.

The free shuttle bus will operate between the Urban Paddock and Beef Australia via the Rockhampton Art Gallery from 8am to 11pm Monday to Friday.

Some of the Urban Paddock activities include:

• Daily – live music from local artists and feed into Beef Australia centre ring
• Monday – family movie evening, children’s workshops and mini markets
• Tuesday to Thursday – afterschool workshops
• Friday – celebrate the end of Beef with Friday night markets and a performance at Riverside by local artist and Tony Cook.
• Thursday & Saturday – chill out with a live feed into the NRL
• Saturday – Suitcase Rummage Markets

For more information visit http://www.advancerockhampton.com.au/Events/Urban-Paddock-Beef-2018.