Music Director Nicholas Gentile and UpStage Australia Director Jessica Westcott (at piano) at Sunday’s choir rehearsal for Overture. Nicholas will be conducting a 40-piece orchestra made up of professional and student musicians, as well as a massed choir of 150 choristers, featuring children and adults from across the Central West. Ticket are available at www.123tix.com.au

It is almost time for the curtain to rise for the majestic Overture event on 2nd April at the Cooke Park Pavilion in Parkes when Australia’s top performers will be on stage with regional talent for a night of unforgettable entertainment.

“We are catering for all music tastes,” said producer Harriet Snaith. “The program includes one aria and the rest ranges from modern pop to musical theatre, and includes songs from Frozen, Shrek, Phantom of the Opera, a Mama Mia medley, The Sound of Music, Wicked and more.”

Harriet said the rehearsals and preparation work were going really well, despite all the challenges of organising Zoom sessions and working with so many people spread out from Sydney to the Central West.

Overture is also the perfect opportunity to use your Dine & Discover vouchers for a night out to celebrate the other side of the pandemic in a COVID-safe environment.

“We would like to make it our ‘Day on the Green’ event”, said Parkes Shire Councillor Neil Westcott. “Bring your picnic rug, food and drink and enjoy an amazing evening with the family.”

The headline stars Lucy Durack and Josh Piterman will be joined by local talent in leading roles from Grenfell, Bathurst and Parkes.

Next weekend UpStage Australia is presenting a series of free dance and acting workshops in Parkes in the lead up to the big night. Top tutors and professionals will be presenting about eight different workshops. For more information and registration go to https://upstageaustralia.com.au/workshop/

Image credit: https://www.forbes.nsw.gov.au/

Forbes Shire Mayor, Phyllis Miller OAM is excited to announce the Councils Heritage Assistance Program is now open for 2021. The program’s aim is to support the reinvigoration of the town’s unique built heritage and historic character through the conservation of the Forbes’ heritage buildings and heritage conservation for the benefit of present and future generations.

“We love protecting the historical elements of our beautiful town and this grant program helps to support the maintenance and preservation of locally heritage listed buildings in the Forbes Shire,” said Mayor Miller.

“The grant can cover repairs, maintenance or the reinstatement of missing heritage elements. The program also supports studies and reports necessary prior to undertaking any work on a heritage item or building. This assistance can be used for anything Heritage Listed across our Shire or a building within our CBD Heritage Precinct and the grants can be applied for work completed since May 2021,” said Mayor Phyllis Miller.

“It also can be for work you are planning on undertaking by April 2022. The grant funding is dollar-for-dollar, up to the amount of $3,000,” she said.

“Demand for heritage grants such as this is consistently high, so I encourage those thinking of doing work to consider speaking with our staff to see if we can help with this financial assistance.”

Preference will be given to buildings or sites identified within Schedule 5 of the Forbes Local Environmental Plan 2013. These include fences, verandahs, roof cladding and decorative details. Projects include structural work through to final painting.

Applications can be made on Councils website:www.forbes.nsw.gov.au/building/heritage/grants-and-assistance. For more info contact FSC on 02 6850 2300

Aruma, Havana House and Holistic Avenue are just some of the recipients of Round 6 of the Building Better Communities Program. Since its inception in 2019, Bernardi’s has proudly donated $200,000 into the local communities in which they operate.

The Forbes family-owned company have been able to give back to local schools, hospitals, sporting clubs and charities with their “Building Better Communities Program” which aims to focus largely on local organisations “who need a helping hand, to keep our local communities thriving and connected”.

Co-CEO Joseph Bernardi said, “the program has been a great success for our communities and something that our family is very proud of. We love that it’s a whole community effort.” Beneficiaries will share in a donation pool of $5,000. They include:
• Aruma – who were looking to purchase new tables and chairsfor their central meeting place where they can hold meetings to catch up with individuals.
• Havana House – have been looking for donations for the day today running of the charity to provide emergency relief to womenand children.
• Holistic Avenue – hope to put their donation towards every dayrunning costs of the charity.

See more at bernardis.net.au/community

Business NSW is encouraging businesses across Western NSW in the hospitality, entertainment and tourism sectors to register for the NSW Government’s Dine & Discover program.

The call comes as the four $25 vouchers have started to become available in several Local Government Areas across regional NSW this week.

“This was a popular announcement from last year’s State Budget, and it’s important our region’s businesses in tourism, hospitality and entertainment register now to benefit from the program,” said Business NSW, Regional Manager – Western NSW, Vicki Seccombe.

“No one needs extra encouragement to have a meal out or enjoy some downtime after the past year, so I encourage Western NSW businesses to register now so they can reap the rewards when the program opens here soon,” Ms Seccombe said.

“Customers are likely to spend much more than the $25 the voucher provides, and they have the opportunity of opening their business up to a whole new potential client base and encourage repeat visitation.”

There will be two distinct categories of voucher, ensuring as many businesses as possible can benefit from the program.

“Two vouchers can be used for eating in at restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs and clubs from Monday to Thursday, excluding public holidays,” said Ms Seccombe.

A new website has been launched for the Free Cuppa for the Driver scheme.

The website lists the participating businesses, features a new frequently asked questions page, and provides information about managing driver fatigue and much more.

Forbes, Parkes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, says the new website will be of tremendous value to visiting drivers and participating businesses alike.

“The new website will help to make it easier for drivers to find a participating business. The full list of the businesses participating in 2021 is now live.”

“So, go ahead and see who’s participating in your area and support your local businesses that support road safety,” said Melanie. The scheme, which has been operating since 2010, runs from 1 March to 31 May annually and offers free cuppas to visiting drivers at participating businesses.

In 2021, there will be 105 businesses in 52 towns across 16 local Councils, stretching from Moree in the North, down to the Victorian border, west to Wentworth as far East as the lower Blue Mountains.

Visit www.freecuppa.com.au to plan where to stop over the holidays.

NAIDOC celebrations will go ahead in Forbes in November.

The Forbes Aboriginal community has come together once again to plan a COVID-safe celebration for NAIDOC this year. Committee members from Yoorana Gunya, Binaal Billa, Forbes Wiradjuri Rangers, Amaroo, CatholicCare and Council as well as community members and representatives from local schools have joined forces to design a family-friendly celebration to be held at the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre on Friday, 13 November from 4.30pm – 8pm.

The event will feature a range of free activities including traditional art, dancing, storytelling, and language as well as art and craft activities, jumping castles and bungee trampolines plus the chance to win some amazing prizes. There will be a range of food options available including a free barbecue and a variety of food vans to choose from.

“We are really excited to still be able to hold this event,” said Committee Chairperson Debbie Gaudie. “When we first started planning, we weren’t sure what would be happening with restrictions, but we have worked hard to make sure the event is COVID-safe for everyone and can still go ahead.”

“There will be plenty of hand sanitiser available, and we will be fencing off the entire event area with only one entry and one exit with QR code or paper sign in on entry. This will make sure we can manage numbers and make sure we have details for contact tracing as required by the State Government,” Debbie said. “All our activities will be run in a COVID-safe way.”

Attendees will be invited to complete a NAIDOC Celebration passport by completing each of the activities available on the day. The first 50 children to complete the activities on the day will win a fishing rod, kindly donated by DPI Fisheries. In addition, all completed passports will be entered into the draw to win an amazing prize pack from Forbes Shire Council.