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September News & Events- 2021
VISIT THE CONDO SKYFEST MIIMA WARRABINYA
New South Wales’s Condo Skyfest Miima Warrabinya, Reaching for the Stars, is set to run from 3 to 4 September this year.
The immersive event celebrates over 65,000 years of Wiradjuri heritage and will be held in the grounds of the Wiradjuri Study Centre.
This year’s program includes traditional and contemporary Wiradjuri dancing by local and visiting groups, live music from singer-songwriters and storytellers, boomerang throwing, a parade of illuminated sky lanterns, workshops of Wiradjuri language, Indigenous art exhibitions, stargazing with professional astronomers, and plenty of Indigenous food.
A range of diverse stalls will be set up for visitors to peruse, and the event will finish with dramatic fire sculpture as a grand finale.
Now in its third year, the alcohol-free family-friendly event brings together people of all backgrounds from throughout Central Western New South Wales and beyond to the small town of Condobolin.
Condobolin is located in the Lachlan Shire of Central New South Wales, and has a population of around 3500 — of whom more than one-quarter identify as Indigenous. It’s approximately a five-hour drive from Sydney.
Tickets are available online at 123tix.com.au and for more information about the event, visit skyfest.com.au.
GRAPES OF MIRTH IS COMING TO QUEENSLAND
Grapes of Mirth will be held in Queensland this year on 18 September, located at Ballandean Estate in the Granite Belt.
This year’s lineup of comedians and wine lovers include star and co-creator of ABC show, Rosehaven, Luke McGregor, nominee of the ‘Best Show’ at the 2021 Melbourne Comedy Festival; Nikki Britton, Britton’s co-host on NOVA podcast Mates Talking about Stuff; Harley Breen, Great Australian Bake Off host Mel Buttle; and three time nominee for ‘Best Show’ at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, Damien Power.
Merrick Watts, Grapes of Mirth Head Clown and MC of the show, said he is eager to bring the event to Queensland’s premier wine region in the Granite Belt.
“Having thoroughly sampled the local wines from the region, we can say they are a perfect match for the comedians, and together we create a full day of laughs and vinos on the green grass at Ballandean Estate Winery,” he said.
Grapes of Mirth will deliver six hours of non-stop entertainment, quality wines from local wine producers, local beers, gourmet food, and festival vibes by travelling DJ Pedro Moshman.
Tickets to be purchased via grapesofmirth.com.au.
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF HISTORY
The Miles Back to the Bush Festival will take place from 9 to 12 September this year, offering travellers a family friendly event and plenty of fun.
Since the 1950s, the Western Down Regional community of Miles and the smaller towns in the surrounding areas have come together biannually to celebrate the value of living in the bush.
The regional town opens up, including its country homes for travellers to tour the private, fascinating and quirky vintage collections of local residents.
With plenty of markets, a street parade, chances to discover the region’s history, a tractor pull and cooking demos, the Miles Back to the Bush Festival offers plenty to do over the four-day event, with kids 12 and under entering the Saturday 11 September main event for free.
Other events include World Record whip cracker, Nathan ‘Whippy’ Griggs’ nighttime and flaming show, the Rooftop Express Show and a new tour to explore the once secret WWII explosive store holding bombs in concrete underground bunkers, Possum Park’s bunkers.
Those stopping by can pre-register for the Beard Appreciation Event to win prizes for the best in numerous beard categories, including ‘The Nurtured’, ‘The Metro’, ‘The Mo’, ‘The Wannabeard’ and the ‘Beard in the Back (mullet)’, to name a few.
A free guided tour held on Friday 10 to a local gas production facility offers the opportunity to get an insight into the gas industry on the Western Downs, courtesy of festival sponsor, Origin Energy.
The event will follow COVID Safe practices and asks visitors to do the same.
THE MUNDI MUNDI BASH HAS NEW DATES
The inaugural music festival, which had already been moved to September 2021, has now been pushed back to next year.
The Outback Music Festival Group, organisers of the Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash, have announced the event will be pushed once again, to 21 to 23 April 2022.
With the COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney and various state border restrictions, Greg Donovan, Festival owner and Managing Director of the Outback Music Festival Group, said despite their strong COVID-19 protocols, it was not practical or fair to Broken Hill locals to continue with the new September dates.
“Moving the event to later this year unfortunately wasn’t an option as our beautiful Outback setting becomes scorching hot; camping in 45-50 degree heat isn’t something anyone would sign up for – regardless of how awesome the line-up is,” Donovan said.
The new dates now fall in the Easter school holidays, which in the Broken Hill and Silverton regions, has clear, autumn weather.
Those unable to attend on the new dates are able to request a ticket refund anytime up to 31 October, with the refunded tickets released for resale on the Mundi Mundi Bash website later in the year.
Nearly all the line-up are expected for the new dates, except for Thirty Merc who are unable to make the new dates.
“To ticket holders who are holding on tight to their tickets we also say thank you; as well as guaranteeing your spot, your solidarity shows all our artists, contractors, crew and vendors that you’re 100 per cent behind the recovery of the Aussie music industry as soon as COVID allows,” Donovan said.
“The past 18 months have been a rough ride for so many Australians and our music industry, and we’re all keen to get back to live gigs, concerts and awesome festivals under desert skies, as soon as it’s safe.”
When it kicks off in April, the music festival will be the biggest event ever staged in Outback New South Wales.
CHECK OUT THE PAMBULA MOTORFEST AND SWAP MEET
The largest car show on the South Coast of New South Wales is now sponsored by Total Tools.
Total Tools is now the major sponsor of the Pambula Motorfest and Swap Meet, one of the largest events held in the Bega Valley Shire in NSW, set for 26 September 2021.
The Pambula Motorfest is a not-for-profit event raising funds for local charities and schools in the Bega Shire area on the Far South Coast of NSW.
The show is held biennially on the last weekend in September and normally runs on alternate years with Cooma Motorfest, but COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 meant the Pambula Motorfest and Swap Meet will now be running both this year and next.
Visitors will be able to see an array of cars, trucks, bikes, tractors, machinery, boats and caravans, as well as anything with a motor or wheels.
Starting at 10am, the family-friendly event will also have activities to suit all ages, including over 400 exhibits, a Trade Fair, Swap Meet, trash and treasure, motocross demonstrations, lawnmower racing, rocker cover racing, a Kids Zone, craft and locally made products and a Food Frolic area with many choices of food available.
At 11am on 25 September, the ‘Bendigo Bank Community Cruise’ will see entrants showcasing their vehicles around the streets of Pambula and Merimbula, with the remainder of the event held at Pambula Sporting Complex on Pambula Beach Road.
After being devastated by drought, bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, the event promises a weekend full of fun and festivities for travellers looking to getaway and support local regions.
Pambula Sporting Complex has free on-site parking, with entry $15 for adults and free for children under 16 years old.
PLATYPUS NUMBER ON THE RISE
Survey finds encouraging platypus numbers on Kangaroo Island.
Following the 2019-2020 bushfires, a team, including researchers from the University of NSW, found that the platypuses on Kangaroo Island may be on the road to recovery.
Spending a week on the isolated Rocker River area of Flinders Chase National Park in late May, the researchers set traps to assess the species’ condition and population growth.
The traps caught healthy juvenile and adult platypuses, indicating their capacity to recover in the river.
Dr Gilad Bino from the Platypus Conservation Initiative in the Centre for Ecosystem Science, at UNSW, said despite the positive findings, the results revealed the impact of the fires in some areas, such as at the Platypus Waterholes or East Melrose Track further upstream, with no platypus caught.
“This was likely a result of the dry conditions upstream which preceded the fires but also longer-lasting effects of the fires on the habitat and perhaps the platypuses,” he said.
The researchers successfully trapped two healthy juvenile females, two healthy juvenile males, and four mature platypuses, two of each gender, with the age of the juveniles meaning they were born after the 2020 fires.
This is great news for the recovering Kangaroo Island platypus population, with the researchers hoping to return to the island in September to complete the survey sampling to better understand the extent of recovery.
“There is still so much to learn about the resilience and capacity of platypuses to recover from such extreme events which, unfortunately, are expected to increase under a changing climate,” Dr Bino said.
The Kangaroo Island community and visitors to the island are encouraged to help improve knowledge of the platypuses by reporting their observations using the iNaturalist app.
STANTHORPE IS TURNING 150!
Returning for its 150th year, the Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Harvest Festival — held every second year — will run from 25 February to 6 March 2022.
The Festival coincides with the town of Stanthorpe’s anniversary of 150 years, and the event will combine the usual harvest with a celebration of the town, its people, and the stories of their history.
Must see events include the Food and Wine Fiesta from 4 to 6 March, Busking Championships on 26 February, the Italian Long Lunch on 27 February, and the Grand Parade on 5 March.
For some extravagance, the Apple and Grape Gala Ball will be held on 4 March for a must-do social event. Cellar doors to see grape harvest in action are open throughout the festival, along with tours of apple orchards.
Accommodation should be booked well in advance as vacancies become scarce closer to the festival.
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