The weekly program keeping you up to date with Toowoomba Regional Council’s facilities, activities and services.
Audio: Council Connections with Darren Burton
Council Connections: Week 3, April 2010
Festival prepares to celebrate seasonal food
Preparations are well under way for the 2010 Hampton Food and Arts Festival, with organisers expecting a bumper crowd to share in the tiny village’s annual celebration of seasonal food and local culture. With little more than a month until the event kicks off on Sunday May 16, organising committee chair Kerri Seccombe is more excited than ever about the potential of this year’s event.
Quality, seasonal food will again be the star of the show,†says Kerri, but this year we’ve recognised that people are more aware than ever about the importance of where their food is grown and how it’s cooked. Worldwide, there’s a trend toward local, sustainably grown food and this year’s Festival will reflect this movement.†Fresh fruit and vegetables sourced from the Hampton district’s famous red soils will be featured in a series of cooking demonstrations by acclaimed Queensland chefs, Matt Golinski and Alistair McLeod. Well known for their television appearances, Golinski and McLeod share a passion for using in-season produce in their recipes, and are expected to keep the crowd entertained with their combination of expertise and lively banter.
To further celebrate the local food theme, Matt Golinski will present an introduction to the international Slow Food movement. Kerri Seccombe said that this is a new feature of this year’s Festival.
Matt has a long involvement with the Noosa Slow Food convivium, and we’re excited that he’s agreed to present the Slow Food concept and its principles of growing and eating food that is good clean and fair.
We’re hopeful that the 2010 Hampton Festival will see the birth of a High Country Slow Food convivium and will be encouraging Festival goers to express their interest at a special Slow Food display,†said Seccombe.
In addition to the food focus, the Hampton Festival will offer plenty for those simply seeking a great day out in the high country. A diverse array of restaurants and wineries will offer freshly cooked meals throughout the day, and two stages of live music, headlined by jazz diva Grace Knight, will keep toes tapping. Kids are well catered for by a newly built playground and children’s entertainment precinct.
The 2010 Hampton Food and Arts Festival will be held on Sunday May 16 in Chapman Park, Hampton. Gates open at 9.30am and entry is $10 (under 12’s free). A free bus service will run from Toowoomba and Highfields to Chapman Park courtesy of Bus Queensland Toowoomba, check times and lots of other info at the Festival website, www.hamptonfestival.com.
For more information contact Kerri Seccombe, Marketing and Publicity, Hampton Food & Arts Festival on (07) 4697 9066 or info@hamptonfestival.com.
Council Connections: Week 1, April 2010
The weekly program keeping you up to date with Toowoomba Regional Council’s facilities, activities and services. Darren reports on fluoridation of the water supply, an essay competition, current water restrictions, Autumnfest and forthcoming council meetings.
Want to do something exciting for Easter without travelling too far?
Come and ‘Experience Pioneer Life at Highfields Pioneer Village on Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday, April 3rd, 4th and 5th, 2010.
Milk a cow, crack a whip or be a blacksmith. Enjoy Billy tea and damper, Grand Parade , baby animals in the nursery, great food, entertainment all through the day  with special guest Jeff Brown  are only a few of the features! You don’t even have to love history or be a vintage  machinery buff to enjoy this Festival. It is an affordable, entertaining weekend for all ages.
Highfields Pioneer Village is in Wirraglen Road, Highfields. For more information call 4696 6309 or visit www.eastervintagefestival.com
More Than 40 Gliders To Soar From Chinchilla For Easter Competition
More than 40 sailplanes and their pilots will fly from Chinchilla in this year’s annual Easter Gliding Competition. The event, run by Caboolture Gliding Club and Gliding Queensland, will see massed launches from Chinchilla Airfield daily from Good Friday 2 April through to Saturday 10 April.
The sight of 40 sailplanes being towed into the air in quick succession by a small squadron of powerful tug aircraft is an exciting sight,†says competition organiser and Caboolture Gliding Club Chief Flying Instructor Brian Wade. Visitors are welcome to come and enjoy the spectacle, which will be starting from about 11 am every day of the competition.â€
The Easter event has a reputation among soaring pilots as a friendly competition and this extends to visitors and onlookers, who are welcome to ask questions and be shown around by event officials after the launching is complete.â€
Among the 40 plus men and women flying from Chinchilla will be pilots who have flown in elite national and international competitions. Two of these are Darling Downs fliers Mike Codling and Alan Barnes, who will be using the Easter competition to hone their pair flying skills for the next gliding world championship in Europe.
Mike and Alan, who fly with Darling Downs Soaring Club at Jondaryan, were selected as team representatives for Australia and have already flown together in Europe as part of their preparation for the worlds.
Other pilots are coming from as far away as New Zealand to compete in this year’s Easter competition.
Further information:
Garrett Russell 0412 374 477 gjr@powerup.com.au
A Stroll Down Broadway – A Grand Success
The Inaugural ‘A Stroll Down Broadway’ was a grand success and raised $7,000 for the Toowoomba Hospice.
Promotions and Fundraising Manager Mr. Mark Munro said he had goose bumps through and through on opening night and he couldn’t wait until the matinee session on Sunday.
I was so proud of the Toowoomba Municipal Band and Choir ‘The Accidentals’ as they all did an outstanding performance in presenting  music from many great Broadway shows including ‘Love Changes Everything’ from Lloyd-Webber’s ‘Aspects of Love’, Peter Allen’s ‘I go to Rio’ from ‘Boy from Oz’, ‘I Know him so well’ and ‘Anthem’ from the musical ‘Chess’. The ever popular music of ABBA as seen in ‘Mamma Mia’ was featured in a great medley of their hits.
Mr. Munro also sang the praises of Compere Mr. Robert Ketton, Musical Director Lorraine Fuller, Choral Coach Cherie Macaulay and Choreographer Shannon Gralow who had combined their talents in this production with the whole cast to make it such a success.
All proceeds from the 2 performances have gone to the Toowoomba Hospice to help continue the invaluable free palliative care service for the terminally ill on the Darling Downs and Lockyer Valley.
Mr. Munro wanted to pass on the Hospice’s sincere gratitude to: University of Southern Queensland, Empire Theatres, The Glennie School, Bob Horstman, Mark Munro, Renae Coonan, Lorraine Fuller, Leanne Fuller, Ian A Rosenberger, Elizabeth Crook, Matthew Skerman, Stephen Lebsanft, Toowoomba Regional Council’s Community Access Fund, Hospice Volunteers, Municipal Band Volunteers & all media for their support of this event.
Finally to Lisa Skerman who made Mr. Munro’s dream of holding a special ‘Musical Concert’ a reality! I have been wanting to do something like this for a long time and when I put the idea to Lisa she was more than happy to get the ball rolling by securing the band and creating the ‘Accidentals’ Lisa was and is an absolute Gem…Thank you Lisa!â€
Wippells accept ‘Challenge’
The Toowoomba Hospice sent out a ‘Free Dress Challenge’ to all the businesses, clubs, organisations and schools on the Darling Downs and in the Lockyer Valley a few weeks ago via mail and Wippells Autos have taken it on!
Mr. Dave Russell – Dealer Principal of Wippells Autos says he and his staff will participate in the Free Dress Challenge in May on the proviso that other Car Dealers take on the Challenge too. I would like to challenge the other Car Dealers to have a free dress day in May or in June to help raise funds for the Toowoomba Hospice. These funds will assist the daily operations of this important community facility providing palliative and respite care for all agesâ€
The organisers of the Challenge have taken a slightly different angle this year with running the Challenge over a 2 month period instead of 1 week Toowoomba Hospice Association Chairman Mr. Graham Barron OAM says This gives the businesses, clubs, organisations and schools a wider time frame to hold their free dress day. We would like to raise at least $6000 from this fundraiser.
A Digital Camera, DVD Player, Photographic Portraits are up for grabs for the businesses, clubs, organisations and schools that raises the most money to make it fair for all; especially the ones with a smaller participants, the organisers will divide the total money raised by total Participants at the participating businesses, clubs, organisations and schools, to obtain an average raised per person.
Participants can contact Mark Munro on 07 46598500 OR email admin.toowoombahospice@bigpond.com to register their business, club, organisation or school
Council Connections: Week 4, March 2010
The weekly program keeping you up to date with Toowoomba Regional Council’s facilities, activities and services.