We are all trying to catch up on two years of sitting at home and no events to go to. The Dine & Discover NSW vouchers implemented by the NSW Government to encourage consumer spending and support businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, will expire on Thursday, 30th June. There are some great events and entertainment venues in our region where you can use your vouchers. So, get in quick and redeem your vouchers at the following regional venues…

Orange Tenpin Bowling

Located at 315 Byng Street, Orange Tenpin Bowling has a great friendly and fun atmosphere with 16 lanes, computer scoring, lightweight bowling balls, ramps and bumper lanes, incredible disco bowling, pool tables, amusement games and café facilities. A great place for a birthday party or group functions. Open Monday to Thursday 9am to 8:30pm, Friday and Saturday 9am to 9:30pm, Sunday 9am to 6pm.

Parkes M and D Society

The Little Theatre in Parkes is excited to present the original musical, written by Lyn Townsend, Turning Tables including well-known hits such as Stronger, Just The Way You Are, I’ll Never Love Again, Born This Way, My Immortal, Holding Out For A Hero, Because Of You, Girls Just Wannna Have Fun and more. The show opens 2nd July. Tickets are available online at www.parkesmandd.com.au or at the Theatre box office every Sunday 10am-12pm.

Forbes Frost and Fire

Frost and Fire at the Lake Forbes Ski Dam on 18th June from 4-10pm celebrates the winter solstice. A great opportunity to spend time with friends in the great outdoors by a fire, with an entertainment that line up including local acts Bob Evans, The Fog Pilots, Grace Jones, and more. Tickets are available at 123tix.com.au.

Club Forbes

Club Forbes is a welcoming, modern space for members from all walks of life with great entertainment and dining options. Wednesday night raffles include 15 prizes to be won, and Bingaroo Bingo every Wednesday from 10:45am with 300 prizes to be won. Enjoy Templar’s Bar & Bistro for dining or takeaway options!

Old Dubbo Gaol

Explore the gaol in your own time or catch (literally!) the characters in costume as they dare to outsmart the Gaol Warden. For some tall tales and performances by animated wardens and prisoners check out the tours and performance schedule for entertaining stories on prison life and their attempts to break out. Book your tickets at www.olddubbogaol.com.au

Forbes Show

The Forbes Show is set to take place this year on 9th and 10th September. The good news is that tickets for this year’s show are now available online. Make sure not to miss out on this year’s show by buying your tickets early using your vouchers to make a fun and enjoyable outing for the family after two years. Buy your tickets here: www.123tix.com.au

Local theatre returned to Parkes in a ‘big’ way last weekend after another year of lockdowns, interruptions and postponements. 

With a cast and crew of 50 the Parkes Musical and Dramatic Society’s production of Big the Musical once again highlights the abundance of talent in the Central West community putting on a fun-filled musical for all the family full of high-energy songs and dancing. Forbes is well represented with two cast members in semi-lead roles and more in the ensemble. 

“It’s been such a long time coming, all of us so glad to be back in the theatre,” said Lisa Ramsay as director of her third musical with the M & D. 

The production required a good dose of perseverance from Lisa as it had to be postponed twice, there were long breaks between rehearsals over the festive period and the April holiday and Elvis Festival, while managing changes in roles, finding new supporting crew members for choreography and set construction and coping with cast members getting COVID during the concluding weeks of rehearsals. 

The final result sees the Overture star from Grenfell, Henry Best in a huge lead role as Josh Baskin. Based on the 1987 smash-hit film with Tom Hanks, Josh is a frustrated adolescent who magically becomes an adult, and discovers that life is not simply child’s play. 

The other lead roles are played by Jess Morgan as Susan, Kate Walsh and Hannah Connell, with new comer Blake Martin and Forbes locals Grace Powley and Drew Barter in semi-lead roles. Grace plays Billie Kopecki, the main character’s best friend, and Drew plays Josh as a child. 

The musical includes the iconic floor piano dancing scene from the movie, and thanks to the ingenuity of two locals, Steve McGrath and Dave McCrae, the Parkes production has a giant floor piano too. “Our piano has three octaves and all the keys light up when you stand on them,” said Lisa of one of the biggest challenges of the set production. 

Whether you want to support local talent, or see the floor piano, make sure to get your tickets online for the shows this weekend and next, or buy tickets at the box office at the Little Theatre on Sundays from 10am to 12pm. NSW Discovery and Family Vouchers are accepted. 

This week is National Volunteer Week and a chance for all of us to celebrate and recognise the vital work of volunteers and to say thank you.

Volunteering brings people together; it builds communities and creates a better society for everyone. Together, through volunteering, we are changing communities for the better. We are, Better Together.

There are plenty of volunteers helping the make the Forbes community better for everyone, and we would like to say thank you to all of them.

 

Yellow ribbons have become synonymous with National Road Safety Week which starts on Sunday with Forbes Town Hall lit in yellow for the week.

Forbes, Parkes and Lachlan Shire Councils will be getting behind this initiative with a range of activities to help raise awareness of road safety as they’ve done since 2017. This includes honouring the memory of the 1,200 lives lost and more than 44,000 seriously injured on Australian roads each year.

During the Week, road users are encouraged to take the pledge to Drive So Others Survive, including not being distracted while driving, not speeding and to never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“During National Road Safety Week 2022, yellow ribbons will be displayed all across the country to remember those we have lost on the roads and to remind us to drive safely,” said Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor.

“Our fleet vehicles and staff will proudly display yellow ribbons. Members of the public are encouraged to pick up a vehicle sticker and/or lapel ribbon for free from our administration offices in Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin and Lake Cargelligo.

“Our email signatures will display the National Road Safety Week artwork for the week. In Parkes the monument on Memorial Hill and the Sir Henry Parkes statue will also be lit in yellow.

“We are encouraging our staff and locals to sign the pledge to Drive So Others Survive www.roadsafetyweek.com.au,” Melanie said.

The Forbes Public School will be a hive of activity on Wednesday morning when they host the participants in the 30th Variety NSW Bash for breakfast before 100 cars will depart at 8am on the next leg of the rally to Ardlethan.

The Bash will visit rural and remote communities bringing much needed tourism revenue and equipment for schools. More than $45,000 worth of grants will be given to regional NSW schools, while more than $12,000 is spent at each lunch stop along the route and more than $70,000 at each overnight stop, including Forbes.

Variety Bash cars are renowned for bringing fun and excitement to the communities they visit with themed cars from Paw Patrol, Bob the Builder and Hot Wheels to Lightning McQueen, Scooby Doo and The Flintstones.

This year’s event starts on Sunday, 15th May at Foreshore Park Newcastle and will head to Spring Ridge, Dubbo, Ballimore, Quambone, Cobar, Condobolin, Forbes, Ardlethan, Wagga Wagga, Wyangala, Bathurst, Wattle Flat, Hunter Valley before finishing back for the Family Fun Day in Newcastle on Saturday, 21st May.

The breakfast at Forbes Public School will be open to the community who can come and view the cars. 

Two Forbes CWA members worked at the ever-popular Tea Rooms at the Royal Easter Show this year for their fourth time after a COVID break of two years.

It is a major fundraising activity for the CWA, and after two years of no show, the CWA members were excited to be baking scones and selling produce again.

Forbes CWA Evening Branch President Robyn Miller and Vice-President Karen Wright worked the morning shifts on Saturday, 9th April and Sunday, 10th April. 

“It was terrific to be able to get back to the show for a milestone year as the Royal Easter Show celebrated their 200th anniversary and CWA its 100th,” said Karen. Robyn said: “Our jobs in the tea rooms this year included ironing the CWA aprons worn by each volunteer (about 60 members per day are needed to staff the Tea Rooms), packing items into the inaugural CWA show bags, cutting of scones and putting them onto oven trays for baking and working on the promotions table selling raffle tickets, merchandise and homemade goodies.”

“The shifts each day were only four and a half hours long but were ‘jam packed’ as the Tea Rooms are so popular with show goers,” said Robyn.

“There were often long lines of people patiently waiting for the next hot fresh batch of scones to come out of the oven,” said Karen.

They were both were very excited and privileged to attend the official opening of the show by Princess Anne. “This was full of pomp and ceremony with her arriving in a horse drawn carriage, having groups of the defence forces marching and a flyover by the Air Force Roulettes,” said Karen.

Support the local CWA’s Open Garden at Helen and Kingsley Green’s property Booklyn on Victory Rd on Saturday, 21st May from 2-4pm. Entry is $10 including afternoon tea. 

By Sue Cunningham