Geoff Helisma

Organisers of a festival planned for Iluka (Saturday September 23 to October 8, 2023) reckon the Iluka Mermaid Festival is Iluka’s worst kept secret.

Perhaps the naming is related to the recent floods and, before that, fires that affected the Iluka/Woombah area, given various cultures around the world have sometimes associated mermaids with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings.

On the other hand, according to other folklore traditions, mermaids can be benevolent or beneficent … or maybe, akin to Iluka’s natural beauty, it’s their seductive allure that inspires the festival’s name.

Whatever the reasoning, though, all will be revealed when the event (and its website) is officially launched at a press conference to be held at Club Iluka at 6.30pm on Friday September 23.

The launch media release says the event’s hosts, sponsors, Clarence Valley Council staff and officers, and the “Great and Good” of Iluka will be attending … and everyone is welcome.

“Don’t be the last to know; come along and find out what all the fuss is about.

“It will be exactly one year to go, so be there as we start the countdown to the Iluka Mermaid Festival.

“We’ll be toasting our mermaid afterwards!”

The festival will also incorporate the centenary of Iluka’s Soldiers’ Memorial Hall into the event.