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The official 2013 program for Toowoomba’s Have A Go! Festival has just been released jam-packed with hands on activities for all ages and local and interstate artisans.

The festival is the only one of its kind in Australia and is being staged at Cobb+Co Museum on February 23rd and 24th. Festival attendees are encouraged to ‘have a go’ at more than 30 creative activities from blacksmithing to silk painting, millinery, wood turning and cake decorating. The program includes have a go activities, demonstrations and mini workshops where visitors can create with their hands under the guidance of leading and national award winning artisans.

The 2013 program release marks the 7th year of the festival” explains Cobb+Co Museum Director, Ms Debbie Bailey. For the first time we’re staging the event over one weekend to ensure visitors who come to Toowoomba can experience the best on offer. We have also extended the program to include an evening ‘have a go’ experience called Dancing Under the Stars with Latin dancing and twilight cinema screening of Dirty Dancing”.

Most importantly we’ve really tried to keep the festival affordable for locals and visitors alike”, explains Debbie, Daily passes are just $10 per person and children under 5 are free. We also have family and week-end passes available”.

The festival program features more than 30 award winning local and visiting artisans including well-known timber designer and New Inventors panellist, Richard Vaughan who will hold a masterclass on Creativity – All you need to do is learn how to allow it”. Other special guests including master craftsman, Frank Weisner and local artisan, Andrew MacDonald who will hold an open forum on the woodwork bench, the heart of many work sheds.

Other festival highlights include creating your own fascinator or hair clip with milliner, Elaine Mergard, creating a leather wrist cuff or bookmark with Cherryl McIntyre and hand made books with Lorraine Brown. Brisbane-based silversmith, Dan Cox will reveal the ancient trade of making silver jewellery with demonstrations on the Sunday.

To obtain your complimentary copy of the 2013 Have A Go! Festival Program, just phone 07 4659 4900 or call into the Cobb+Co Museum at 27 Lindsay Street, Toowoomba. You can also download the festival program on their website at www.cobbandco.qm.qld.gov.au. Tickets can be pre-purchased online or at the door of the festival daily.

Submitted by:
Krista Hauritz
Cobb+Co Museum
Toowoomba

The 2013 annual Australasian Real Estate Results Awards (ARERA’s) were held at Luna Park in Sydney recently, unearthing some of the most talented agents across Australia and New Zealand. The annual Awards recognise Real Estate Results Network Members for their outstanding achievements in the real estate industry, putting a strong focus on service excellence, community achievement and innovation.

Real Estate Results Network founder and CEO Michael Sheargold congratulated the finalists and winners on not only surviving 2012, but thriving during a challenging year.
Mr Sheargold said that the results of the independent agencies were a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners through various market conditions. The awards are contested by the nation’s best of the best independent agencies and performers and again we were impressed by the high level of competence and quality shown by agencies and the people behind the brands,” he said.

This is a reminder of how successful agencies can be without the constraints of the once traditionally secure franchise real estate model, and shows how agencies which are owned and managed by families and have a strong code of ethics, underpinned by old school values can thrive in this industry.”

Real Estate Results Network consists of independent agencies, agents, property managers and support teams, all competing for these accolades.

Australia’s Wally de Backer(Gotye) has been awarded three Grammys for Alternative Music Album, Pop Duo/Group Performance and the prestigious Record of The Year at the 2013 Grammy Award ceremony in L.A.

This is the biggest haul of awards by an Australian since Olivia Newton-John and the Bee Gees in the 70’s (though of course they were living in the US at the time).

It’s only the second time in the 54-year history of the Grammys that the Record of the Year prize has been won by an Australian artist (the only other winner was Olivia Newton-John in 1975 for “I Honestly Love You”) and the first time ever that an Australian male solo artist has received multiple Grammys in the same year.

The Record of the Year award is particularly prestigious, with past winners including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and U2.

Wally has said “I’m grateful to everyone at home for their constant support. It’s been amazing and I don’t take it for granted. I’m particularly pleased that my album “Making Mirrors” has been acknowledged as well as the single. Hopefully this means there’s a place for adventurous, interesting music out there – and for completely silly music too!”

The awards are the icing on the cake for an incredible 18 months since the Australian release of Gotye’s third album Making Mirrors. That album sold over 2 million copies worldwide and was a Top 10 album in over 25 countries, won multiple ARIAs in Australia and its equivalents abroad and spawned the hit single, ‘Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)’.  The song has sold over 13.5 million singles, was viewed over 373 million times on Youtube and was the most streamed song globally on Spotify in 2013. It was the #1 iTunes single in over 50 countries.

Last week, Gotye played his last show of an 18-month world tour with a memorable gig in India.  Next week? He’ll be resting. A lot.

Toowoomba is one of the state’s diabetes hotspots – with rates of type 2 diabetes diagnosed in the city increasing by more than 23 per cent since 2008 (Type 2 diabetes is known as a major cause of avoidable hospitalisation in Queensland, above the flu and asthma).

Diabetes Queensland is calling on members of the Toowoomba community to take action, by personally helping to educate more people about the world’s fastest growing chronic disease. Volunteers are being sought to present the new community-based program ‘Know the Score’, designed to educate people about type 2 diabetes, its complications, and how, where possible, people can prevent or delay the onset of the condition.

With 60 more Queenslanders diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every day and rates expected to triple across Australia by 2025, Diabetes Queensland CEO Michelle Trute says the rise of type 2 diabetes is having a major impact not only on individuals, but across this state as a whole.

Type 2 diabetes is known as a lifestyle condition which can be largely prevented or delayed through regular exercise, ensuring a nutritious diet and maintaining a healthy weight. The condition is one of the country’s greatest emerging health and economic burdens, at a financial cost of up to $6 billion annually.

Every person with diabetes costs the health system up to $10,000 per year,” she said. This is a costly condition which we all have a responsibility to tackle together, to stop this epidemic escalating out of control. Across Queensland, we all need to heed the warning signs. With more than two thirds of Australian adults classified as overweight or obese, it’s vital that we take community action to increase education and support, and help people make better lifestyle choices.

‘Know the Score’ is presented by committed volunteers, who are passionate about championing the type 2 diabetes prevention message at a grass-roots level. Volunteers from the Toowoomba region can register for free to complete a one-day training course to gain the skills and resources necessary to deliver know the score. Those who can communicate well with others, are confident public speakers and have the time to give are encouraged to apply.

The next volunteer training session is scheduled in the region for Wednesday 27th February. Register your interest by contacting Diabetes Queensland on 1300 136 588 or by emailing knowthescore@diabetesqld.org.au. Places are limited with registrations closing on 19th February.

More information about the impact of type 2 diabetes across Queensland and  ‘Know the Score’ is available at www.diabetesqld.org.au.

An exciting collection of ceramic works will be on-show in the University of Southern Queensland’s Arts Gallery this month.

1200 DEGREES OF SEPARATION explores the unique nature of the handmade ceramic as studied by the students of the USQ Visual Arts program.

USQ Lecturer in Ceramics and exhibition curator, Alexis Tacey said, the exhibition looks at what is currently happening in ceramics at USQ showcasing recent work by students in the first, second and third year of their studies.”

They will present work based on their current research, ranging from formal/informal dinner settings and wheel thrown functional ware, to origami-style folded porcelain and slip cast porcelain based on forms found in nature.

All of the work is handmade, positioning it in a unique way when we think of machine made ceramics with little to no apparent nuances, which are very visible in handmade pottery.”

Ceramics are used for a variety of purposes in the industrial world such as insulators for electricity transmission and even by NASA for tiles fixed to the outside of space shuttles.

The clay used in most of the work we do is transformed from its raw, vulnerable state to a hard, vitrified state by firing the work to about 1200 degrees Celsius. However, when we think of ceramics as an insulator used on spacecraft, the clay is fired to a much higher temperature.

One of the newest forms of clay materials included in the exhibition is Keraflex; porcelain sheets as thin as 0.5mm which are translucent and extremely flexible allowing them to be folded, cut, stitched and even woven.”

Ceramics has been taught at the University since the 1970s and, over the past four decades, many different art practices have developed and evolved.

A graduate herself of the USQ Visual Arts program (then DDIAE), Alexis went on to study with Janet Mansfield in Sydney/Gulgong and completed a four year apprenticeship in Japan with Yoshida Yoshihiko.

As Lecturer in Ceramics at USQ, Alexis shares the knowledge gained from these studios, encouraging students to experiment and understand as much as possible the materials, skills and ideas necessary to make meaningful and well resolved ceramic work.

We encourage students to explore a multitude of processes and techniques in the studio including hand building, wheel throwing, slip casting, wood firing and glaze making to name a few.”

1200 DEGREES OF SEPARATION will be officially opened on Tuesday 12 February at 5pm and continues until 7 March in the USQ Arts Gallery.

The Gallery is open from 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday and admission is free of charge.

Submitted by:
Michelle Fox
USQ Artsworx
Ph 07 4631 1111

The Toowoomba Bypass Forum is a meeting of government and industry leaders at an invitation only summit designed to seal the deal – for our economic future, for our communities, for all associated industries and for our environment.

The Bypass Forum will take place on Friday February 8th, 2013. The agenda-led day will include up to date presentations from Federal and State leaders as well as industry representatives.

The program for the day is as follows:

The Bypass proceedings are being streamed live.      Click Here

The Toowoomba Bypass is not just a road….it is a pathway that delivers economic prosperity and a safer transport route for industry and our communities.  All levels of Government agree it needs to be built,
but every day we delay, its costing us millions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P964Dj3Ce-I[/youtube]
The proposed bypass will span 42 km from the Warrego Highway at Helidon Spa to the Gore Highway at Athol.

(Information by coutesy of Toowoomba Regional Council)

Crime Stoppers Queensland has released its annual statistics for 2012 to coincide with the celebration of Crime Stoppers Day on Friday 8th February, 2013.

During 2012 Crime Stoppers Queensland received 40,321 anonymous phone calls. Chief Executive Officer Mr Trevor O’Hara said Intelligence reports were up 6.6% and online reporting through the Queensland website had risen by 54% during 2012. This indicates that higher quality information reports were being received from the public.”

As a direct result of this information flowing through the Crime Stoppers program, a total of 1,820 offenders were arrested on 5,502 charges during 2012”, Mr O’Hara said. That equates to a 1.3% increase in arrests and 17% increase in charges compared to the 2011 calendar year”.

A significant result for the organisation was the seizure of illegal drugs totalling $17.3 million during 2012, a 46% increase from 2011 and a 100% increase from 2010.

Whilst illegal drug related activity stood out in the range of calls received by Crime Stoppers during the year, 111 Weapons Act, 97 Break and Enter, 44 Unlawful Use of Motor Vehicle, 33 Armed Robbery and 85 Stolen Property offences were also finalised during the year. Importantly though, one Attempt to Unlawfully Kill charge was also achieved during the year” said Mr O’Hara.

Crime Stoppers Queensland has released these figures to coincide with Crime Stoppers Day being celebrated on Friday 08 February, 2013.

Submitted by:
Andrew Fox
Manager Corporate Communications
Heritage Bank

On Friday night 28th December 2012, Miles family Sandy and Dave Meehan and three of their children were visiting family in Childers (near Bundaberg) when their car collided head-on with a utility. Sandy died at the accident scene, while Dave sustained serious injuries.

Daughter Sharon (15) and son Dylan (13) suffered life-threatening injuries. Sharon and Dylan remain hospitalised in Brisbane as they face many months of recuperation and rehabilitation. Infant daughter Schayler was miraculously spared, suffering only bruising, while eldest daughter Skye was not travelling with the family when the accident occurred.

TOOWOOMBA musicians have offered their talents to help fund the long and expensive battle that lies ahead for the family after the horrific car crash. Cool Nights Big Band members have organised a night of entertainment and raffles at Darling Heights State School on Saturday, February 9th to coincide with a fundraising day being held at Miles.

Country music artist Brendon Walmsley will join Ron Williams and the Cool Nights Big Band on stage from 6-10pm. All funds raised will be donated to the Meehan Family Fund. Phone 0400 875 053.

Submitted by:
Peter Rookas
CEO
Toowoomba Hospital Foundation