Arts

The March long weekend brings with it many entertaining events throughout the region. Just a hop, skip and a jump away, will be Beulah’s not-to-be-missed Wide Open Spaces Festival; a weekend of music, art, food and fun at the Beulah Recreation Reserve.

The Lost Trades Fair is a fantastic celebration of craftsmanship, ancient arts, heritage crafts, rare trades and knowledge passed down through generations. Come along to the Bendigo Racecourse this weekend ... and see the tools, traditions, techniques and trade  secrets on show.

Newstead Open Studios art trail is a locally inspired and crafted event, held annually since 2015 and based in and around Newstead, in the heart of Victoria’s goldfields region. This, our tenth-year, features 10 studios with 17 artists participating.

Renowned Sculpture Artist, Andrew Whitehead was in Coolamon recently to install his work 'For Keeps' in Cowabbie Street ... "For Keeps" shows three children playing marbles and is inspired by the paintings of country towns in Australia by D'arcy Doyle.

The Hush Foundation, whose mission is to transform healthcare cultures with kindness and the arts, is delighted to launch its inaugural Kindness in Healthcare Writing Prize, in memory of the late author and doctor Kath O’Connor. Kath was a General Practitioner in Central Victoria and had just finished the second draft of her beautifully crafted novel, Inheritance (Affirm Press, 2023) when she died of Ovarian Cancer in 2019 at the age of 48.

What happens when a bush concert is facing cancellation, and how can Easter Bilby help? That’s the storyline in ‘Banjo Frog’s Concert Spectacular’, a new children’s book released by Foundation for Rabbit-Free Australia in conjunction with Wakefield Press.

Jenny Pollard. After four days of full-on activity, Charlton has surely earned a place in the spotlight for community endeavour as both a host and in partnership with the burgeoning OK Motels Contemporary Music and Arts Small Town Festival, which played out last weekend ... with the fun and innovative  activities like “Marry Your Friends – A Celebration of Holy Mate-rimony”...

Daisy Baker. As locations across Tasmania are being transformed into immersive art spaces for Mona Foma, an independent gym in Launceston is preparing to host world-class circus professionals for two adults-only evenings this week. Tasmanian circus company ROOKE will present DEKOOR in Method Plus Action gym, playfully exploring gym culture, training and voyeurism.

Michelle Daw. Stenhouse Bay and a rising full moon formed the stunning backdrop to the on-Country preview of Adelaide Festival production, Guuranda, at the weekend ... It tells the creation stories of Guuranda/Yorke Peninsula and is led by artistic director and Narungga /Kaurna theatre-maker Jacob Boehme.

“I’m surrounded by a thriving arts community and a number of really good potters. I think artists here are inspired by the environment and pottery allows you to literally be in touch with the elements. Being in a community that appreciates, fosters and values artistic pursuits gives you courage to express yourself artistically; it lifts you up and celebrates what you do without the hindrance of competition": Rachel Falls Williams.

A magpie with a broken leg is featured on a new mural at Old Bonalbo School. The magpie scores food all around the village. “Everyone thinks the magpie is their magpie,” a resident said.

Lillian Colless had her dream come true when a monument to the fishermen of Evans Head was unveiled ... as part of a Fishermen’s Reunion weekend. The monument honours the fishing industry – in the 1950s there were 70 trawlers fishing out of Evans Head.

Robin Letts. It was 1948, the year after I had left the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS “Cerberus”, to take up a position with the family newspaper, “The Donald Times” ... During an informal chat prior to the running of the 1948 Melbourne Cup, Howard had told me of a small wager he had made on a horse called Rimfire, to be ridden by Birchip jockey, Ray Neville.

A New South Wales musician has expressed his love for Warumungu country in a recently released song titled Threeways ... "We had travelled over 170,000 kilometres and performed more than 270 shows, and we had come to a fork in the road. We were nearly broke, busted and there was nothing for miles": Kevin Sullivan.

Blake Lee. In just 15 days’ time, Birchip’s main street will become a vibrant, action packed site for locals and tourists alike as the community comes together to host the Mali Heart Street Art Festival.  The March long weekend is set to be an eventful one for Birchip, with travellers from all across the state choosing to spend their weekend in the area to enjoy the hospitality and activities on offer with the locals.

Fine art lovers rejoice - the Cascade Art Gallery re-opens next week ... The fine art gallery’s opening will be a boost for the town of Maldon, which has been feeling the pinch with the temporary closure of the Kangaroo hotel, the loss of a restaurant and the impending closure of Le Sel.

An exciting new radio play is about to hit the airwaves. ‘Trouble At Towong’ has been written by Carol Lowden and centres on the alleged appearance of Squizzy Taylor at the Towong Cup meeting of 1927. Carol is a Mansfield writer with ties to the Upper Murray and a particular interest in the Towong races.

Serena Kirby. The coming performances of ‘When Birds Take Flight’ will take audiences on a poetic and musical journey that symbolises the migratory path of birds between Denmark and Siberia. The musical collaboration for voice and instruments has been created by composer/lyricist Louise McKenna and poet and spoken word performer, Jen Fraser, and takes the form of a story-song cycle.

Patricia Gill. Denmark Arts founder Andre Steyl, who died at 78 two weeks short of his 79 birthday, had estimated that he had clocked up ‘roughly’ 40 years involvement in community arts. The South African-born and raised life member and a ‘legend’ of Denmark Arts suffered and survived poliomyelitis in his adolescence, and was left with partial paralysis.

Well known and loved throughout the Clarence Valley for his deadly digeridoo skills and cultural performances, proud Bundjalung youth Lennox Monaghan is set to make his on screen debut in the upcoming Stan original feature film Windcatcher ... Lennox plays Percy Boy, a young Aboriginal child living in a small country town...

Hitting the Queensland roads in February and March, audiences in  Gympie, Townsville, Cairns, Rockhampton, and Bundaberg  are destined to be uplifted and enthralled by six stories of strength and resilience in the one original and heart-warming theatre production of  GRIT. Developed in 2022 after Gympie’s devastating floods ...

Greg Davis likes to photograph buildings. Somehow, he captures the essence of a building in his pictures showing the character and history of a town through bricks and mortar ... That trip included Warwick, Stanthorpe – and Kyogle.