50. Bluewater Festival

On my early morning walk on Good Friday, a few weeks ago, I noticed that a large number of trucks and vans had replaced the cars which are usually in the parking area close to the Pier. Also, that the local radio station, 99.7 Bridge FM, had set up a stall close to the pier where people were already playing music and broadcasting their program live.

I could see families who were cooking breakfast on the barbecues in the shelters and could hear the steady flow of conversation, with people talking freely to each other. The usual peaceful atmosphere, which we so enjoy each early morning on our walks, had completely gone and had been replaced by noise and activity all around us. This change had been brought about by the annual “Bluewater Festival”.

Good Friday is the day when this festival is celebrated in Sandgate. It is also the day when the annual Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race takes place, with many boats taking part. This race, which was first held in 1949, covers a distance of more than 300 nautical miles and has its starting point near the Shorncliffe Pier.

The boats, waiting in Bramble Bay, can be seen in the distance, from vantage points on the Shorncliffe Pier and the Sandgate waterfront. After a cannon is fired at exactly 11am, they make their way towards the Redcliffe Peninsula and Moreton Island, and then towards Gladstone. This year the weather appeared calm, however, that’s not always the case.  Apparently, in 1972 a cyclone caused havoc among the participating yachts, with only a few being able to finish the race.

On shore, the day is celebrated with the Bluewater Festival, hosted by the Sandgate Bayside Chamber of Commerce. It’s a happy occasion which is enjoyed by many families, and, after my morning walk, I was most happy to take part in the festivities, returning later in the day with our granddaughter, Evie, who is 12 years old and our grandson Willem, who is 10. They were both very keen to come along and see it all.

It was still very busy on the Sandgate waterfront when the three of us arrived in the afternoon. Cars were parked a long way away from all the action and there were people everywhere, walking in groups towards the pier. It turned out to be our lucky day, because we were able to find a good parking spot, when we noticed someone leaving just as we were approaching.  We had even more luck when we were immediately able to get three seats on the Sandgate Museum’s little train, which operates on this day, especially for this occasion. It picks up passengers for a very scenic ride along the waterfront, towards the Shorncliffe pier. Evie and Willem really enjoyed the experience, and so did I!

Last year I had volunteered, on behalf of the Museum, to collect the “gold coin” donations from the people waiting for seats on this train.  This year I had not done so and therefore had plenty of free time to enjoy the ambience of it all.  After the train arrived at its destination close to the Pier the three of us mingled with the crowd and listened to the performers on the Main Stage.

As luck would have it, we arrived just as the “Abba Girls” came on stage to sing a bracket of Abba songs, which the children (and I) really enjoyed. We continued to make our way through the crowd and saw all the usual fairground activities, such as face painting, dodgem cars and much more. However, the hightlight for us was definitely the wide variety of food offerings, available from the many stalls and food trucks.

To our great excitement, we came across a Dutch-themed food stall, the “House of Poffertjes”, serving mini Dutch pancakes with powdered sugar, strawberries and whipped cream. No price for guessing what happened next! Of course, we had no hesitation in sharing a plate-full between the three of us. As was to be expected, it brought back many more memories of my years as a child in Holland.

In Holland, poffertjes are a traditional sweet treat, widely available at markets and particularly popular in winter. The mini pancakes are prepared fresh, on the spot, and children love them. Evie and Willem were no exception. I’ve read that they were first seen in Amsterdam at a fair in 1746 and that they are also known as “brothers”. However, I have never heard them referred to as such. It has also been claimed that the Catholic Church invented poffertjes. Again, that’s news to me and may or may not be true.

Towards the end of the afternoon, I could see the rain clouds moving closer towards us over the pier, which made us decide to take the little train back to our car and to drive home, where we were able to tell Sue all about our discovery of an almost 300 year-old Dutch treat.

The Bluewater Festival, organised by the local Chamber of Commerce, is one of several enjoyable, annual events which make our “Village by the Bay” so special for those of us who are fortunate to live in this part of Southern Queensland.

O.P.

P.S. Our next blog post in 2 weeks time, on 21 July, is about Joseph Conrad, a seafarer who visited Australia and later became one of the greatest writers in the English language, even though English was not his mother tongue.