Kim Muffet, Penelope McGufficke, Wendy Muffet, Olivia Turner, Emily Brotherton, Wayne O’Neill and Lisa Cameron represented Grazing Down The Lachlan at the 2019 Australian Tourism Awards gala evening in Canberra.

Last weekend Forbes’ very own, Grazing Down The Lachlan was awarded Bronze in the Festival and Events category at the 2019 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

Grazing received the accolade in front of industry representatives from across the Nation at a gala evening held at Canberra’s National Convention Centre on Friday evening.

Queensland’s Groundwater Country Music Festival took out gold in the category, while The Unconformity contemporary arts festival in Tasmania was awarded silver.

The award rounds out Grazing’s most successful year since its inception in 2017, having been awarded silver at the Regional Tourism awards and gold at the NSW Tourism Awards last year, as well as a sell-out event for the third year running in 2019.

Chair of Grazing Down The Lachlan Committee, Wendy Muffet said, “Grazing has exceeded our expectations in every way and recognition at the National level is truly the icing on the cake. Grazing’s success is an example of what this amazing little river town of Forbes can achieve when we all pitch in.”

The Australian Tourism Awards are the tourism industry’s peak Awards – recognising and promoting excellence in tourism across every state and territory.

The award was well earned, the ever-humble husband and wife team and 2020 Forbes Citizens of the Year, Kim and Wendy Muffet, were keen to thank and recognise the volunteers and community, with Wendy saying, “Heartfelt thanks to our sponsors, the local Wiradjuri mob, our volunteers and the small local businesses that work alongside our dynamic volunteer committee to make the magic happen.” Wendy has never missed an opportunity to show her appreciation to the community and volunteers who make the event possible.

Woolworths Forbes is calling on residents to get behind Share the Dignity’s annual Dignity Drive this month and support the fight to end period poverty for those women in need across the region.

With over 3 million Australians living under the poverty line and the number of women experiencing periodic poverty across NSW on the rise, local residents will be able to help make a difference to their region by donating a sanitary item via the Dignity Drive boxes located in Woolworths Forbes throughout March.

Woolworths Forbes Store Manager, Noel Reardon said: “Last year we saw so many of our customers generously donate to the Dignity Drive. It was heart-warming to see how enthusiastic they were in helping us support local women in need.”

“We hope our customers will get behind Share the Dignity again this month and help us raise vital supplies for girls and women experiencing poverty, homelessness and domestic violence.”

Deborah Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer of Share the Dignity, said: “While the number of vulnerable women in Australia is sadly growing, we remain committed to our vision to eradicate period poverty in this country. When you are shopping at Woolworths this March, Share the Dignity encourages you to think, “one for me, one for her”, because while it may seem like a small gesture, we know small dignities make a big difference.”

Funds committed by Woolworths from the sales of sanitary items in stores across the country over the past year have been used to purchase ‘Dignity Vending Machines’. Known as ‘Pinkboxes’, the machines dispense free period packs to women and girls supported by domestic violence services, homelessness hubs and schools.

Councillors and staff of Forbes and Parkes Shire Councils with Regional Lifestyle Magazine staff at the launch on Saturday, 15th February held at Forbes Town Hall.

Connection and Collaboration were the themes of the evening for the launch of the 28th edition of Regional Lifestyle Magazine (RLM) at the Forbes Town Hall last month.

Forbes and Parkes collaborated for the feature to showcase the unique culture, scenery, rich history and various events that can be found throughout the two regions.

Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM warmly welcomed the 80 guests in attendance which included Council representatives, featured local personalities and businesses which advertised in the magazine.

Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith OAM thanked RLM for the opportunity to work with Forbes Shire Council for a combined Forbes/Parkes feature. “I think it’s fantastic that we can support one another, as well as celebrate and share the success of each other’s events,” said Ken.

Regional Lifestyle Magazine Editor, Elizabeth Tickle acknowledged the success of the partnership between the two regions before officially launching the Autumn edition. “This particular project has been six months in the making… 113 pages dedicated to the beautiful Forbes and Parkes areas.”

Copies of the Autumn 2020 edition are available online at lifestylemagazine.net.au or from local newsagents.