Sea Dreams is a week-long community arts festival planned for the Gladstone region from August 20-28 in 2011. 

It will involve creative writing, ballet, drama, music and visual art as well as public talks and possibly film. Some practical arts workshops are part of the project.

All the creative work will involve a common specified theme: the sea. Obviously the sea is a vital part of life and work in Gladstone and much of the art produced will relate to our part of the world. However, any aspect of the sea can be addressed, anywhere and at any time in history.

At the heart of the festival will be some high-quality performances and select exhibitions involving some of the best talent in the region. Around this will be further contributions by individuals, groups and schools which can be more spontaneous. While most events will take place in the evening, there will be an outdoor day at the marina parklands on a Sunday.

The festival will take place at different venues around Gladstone and-where feasible-the smaller communities in our region.  Part of the project will involve collecting ‘sea stories' from locals, either contributed in writing or via recorded interview. These will be available on a Sea Dreams website.

It is expected the festival will:

• Stimulate creativity; encourage a degree of cross-fertilisation and collaboration between those working in different art forms;
• Generate a larger audience for any one artistic work or production than it would have achieved otherwise;
• Introduce those who have so far not patronised particular arts to take an interest; also to acquaint newcomers to town with the different arts groups which exist and encourage them to join;
• Promote better awareness in each of the towns of our region of what is going on in the other towns;
• Provide a showcase of local cultural enterprise. It is hoped to produce a CD and document the staging of the event on video.

Sea Dreams involves a partnership between CQUniversity and the community of the Gladstone region. It has a steering committee comprised of University staff and representatives of different arts areas.  The project has been sponsored by QAL and GPC as well as the University and further sponsorship is being sought.