Looking for that city escape without leaving the comfort of the country? Dubbo has everything you need for any kind of trip – a business event, a family holiday or a romantic escape. Dubbo is known as the “City of Smiles” and has a refreshing blend of urban and rural cultures. For the history buffs, Dubbo is built on rich cultural heritage and interesting experiences are on offer for visitors and locals to explore the past.

This thriving inland city is home to more than 40,000 people, and claims to be the envy of other regional cities due to its breadth of diversity in health, education, retail and professional services, as well as a quality lifestyle, job opportunities and affordable housing. Situated opposite the picturesque Victoria Park, Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre is Dubbo’s premier event venue.

It is located in the heart of the city, just a short stroll to the central business district, restaurants, shops and the Macquarie River. The DRTCC houses the 750-seat Macquarie Auditorium which is the perfect venue for hosting business events, conferences and trade expos. The auditorium also has a retracting wall that divides the floor area of the auditorium into halves. It is framed by a foyer space which is ideal for sponsor and trade displays.

The 500-seat Joyce Schneider tiered theatre boasts modern facilities including a comprehensive, computerised sound and lighting control room, box office, acoustically designed auditorium, hydraulic orchestra pit, fly tower, dressing rooms, ‘green room’, refreshment bar and designated seating for people with disabilities.
Visit the DRTCC to enjoy a variety of shows from concerts, plays, musicals, opera, family shows, dance and comedy.
Call 6801 4378 or go online at www.drtcc.com.au for tickets and more information. When booking tickets, don’t forget to mention that you read about the shows through the Forbes Phoenix!

Another little gem you will find in the heart of Dubbo Street is The Book Connection, an independent family bookstore with over 50,000 new and used titles in stock. There are books in a diverse range of categories from Aboriginal Studies to Cooking books with a myriad of fiction and children’s books in between. If you love browsing through books you will probably need a few hours to peruse the shelves at The Book Connection. There are also many contemporary Australian titles to choose from and a range of beautiful photography collections showcasing different Australian themes.

Dubbo is built on land traditionally owned by the Tubbagah People of the Wiradjuri Nation. Ambition and spirit became the driving forces that transformed a village into a vibrant city hub. The community is bubbling with character, personality, potential and hundreds of interesting stories to tell. To celebrate and honour the past you can walk the footsteps of Dubbo’s pioneers into the city’s intriguing past. Dubbo is steeped in the history of bushrangers,
underworld figures and renowned architects which you can learn all about on the Heritage Walk, starting at the Dubbo Visitor Information Centre.

Orana Mall is Dubbo’s shopping hotspot with a massive range of stores and services. All of your favourite fashion, gaming, homeware and footwear retailers can be found here, as well as a food court full of the tastiest flavours. Orana Mall is on track to complete their $30+million redevelopment over the next few months and there are a whole bunch of new shopfronts opening during August and September. This will include Jeanswest, The Coffee Club, Factorie, Cotton On Body and Cotton On Kids.

The Western Plains Cultural Centre is an $8.2 million facility operated and managed by Dubbo City Council. Located at the site of the old Dubbo High School which closed its doors in 2000, Western Plains Cultural Centre features an art gallery, a museum, a community arts centre and a café. The Cultural Centre was the 2009 winner of the Education and Public Engagement Award and has full amenities including wheelchair access and baby changing facilities.

The Outlook Café is open from Wednesday to Monday between 8am and 5pm, and open late on Fridays for dinner; the perfect way to top off an afternoon wandering through the permanent displays at Dubbo Regional Museum or an hour of art appreciation at Dubbo Regional Gallery. There’s no better way to shop! Save with amazing specials throughout the centre. Be early… only while stocks last!

At this time of year, the town of Canowindra is enjoying Christmas in July, a celebration intending to mimic the northern hemisphere’s white wintery Christmases. Many events are organised as part of the celebrations including
the Christmas in July Window Competition which inspires local businesses to get into the spirit of Christmas by decorating their shop windows.

The old Hardware Shop on Gaskill Street has become a showcase for elaborate window displays that change regularly to reflect either the time of year or a special celebration. The windows are a project of Tommy Jeffs’ from Deli Lama across the road and have become an attraction for visitors to the town. Stop in for a coffee and admire the display from across the street.

Canowindra is a historic village nestled among the rolling hills and spectacular landscapes of Cabonne. The town has a reputation of being a friendly and inviting community with warm and helpful locals. The quirky, curvy main street of Canowindra is lined with heritage listed buildings adding to a strong tourism culture built around history, art, food and of course wine. Canowindra is also Australia’s premier balloon flying region– the ultimate way to get a spectacular view of the flawless landscape.

The town boasts a thriving restaurant and café culture as well as several incredible vineyards producing some of the best wines in the region. It’s been five years since Jackie and Geoff Yeo restored the iconic building in Canowindra known to locals as “Finns Store”. Together they transformed the desolate, silent shop into a vibrant centre of social activity. The mix of coffee, food, clothing, jewellery, and furniture gives the shop a sense of old world
charm merged with modern expectations.

To complement the wonderful food served and the functions being held, the store has recently become fully licensed! Customers have an amazing choice of local and imported beers and local wines. Since it opened, Finns Store has gained the reputation of being one of the regions must visit experiences. Geoff and Jackie believe that the central location of the store gives people an opportunity to make an escape for the day to a venue and town that feels like another world, without needing to travel long distances.

Finns Store is a venue where locals can mix with visitors; a venue that promotes wonderful wines, food and art; a venue that has an array of clothing, jewellery and furniture; truly a ‘licensed cafe emporium’ which can make you feel you have entered another world.

Check out the Age of Fishes Museum to discover the 360 million year old history of this land.

Schools Celebrate Local Heroes

Between Monday 27 and Friday 31 July, Education Week is a major event on the NSW public schools calendar and this year the theme is ‘Celebrating Local Heroes’. During Education Week, schools and learning facilities across the state organise and take part in a range of activities including performances, exhibitions, competitions and sports events.

“Education Week is a time to celebrate the achievements and successes of our students, teachers and support staff across all NSW public schools,” says NSW Minister for Education Adrian Piccoli. Several special events have been planned in conjunction with Education Week to highlight the quality programs available at Forbes North Public School.

Forbes North are inviting all parents, carers and family members to visit the classrooms on Tuesday 28 July to see first-hand the quality learning undertaken each and every day. Classrooms will be open from 11:50am until
12:30pm. Afterwards, a special Education Week assembly will be held in the school hall which will include performances by the school choir and the presentation of Bronze I-Con Certificates to the children who have
earned these this year.

Everyone is then invited to enjoy a community sausage sizzle lunch prepared by staff from Forbes North’s Community Business Partners Ray White Rural. Traditional Education Week church services will be held on Wednesday at Northside Chapel and on Thursday there will be a disco in the school hall for Forbes North students from 5pm to 6:30pm.

Also as part of the Education Week activities, students from Forbes High School’s Creative and Performing Arts classes will visit Forbes North on Friday July 31 to present a concert to all students from K-6. At Forbes Public School, students learn in a stimulating and challenging environment with a 21st century approach to schooling.

To celebrate Education Week, the school has organised many activities including an Open Day at Forbes Public School on Monday July 27 between 10:15 and 11am, as well as a Book Fair in the school library from 8:30am to 3:30pm. A community morning tea will be served in the nature area from 11am to 11:30am.

The Forbes Preschool Kindergarten welcome everyone for their individuality, for their ideas and their contributions, believing that for children, Preschool is about fun, love, laughter, friends, learning, exploring and excitement. Every child deserves a beautiful start to a life of education and the staff at Forbes Preschool are proud of what they do showing pride in their roles. For parents and families the Preschool is a comfortable place that they can visit anytime and feel a sense of belonging and pride. They offer a range of resources including traditional, symbolic and
sensory play.

At Hair with Style, they believe all their clients deserve the best. They are passionate about the most current styles to suit each client’s needs. Due to this passion for hair, Hair with Style owner Cindy Herbert was one of five hair stylists from across Australia to be invited by hair products company TIGI to be part of their global promotional video and travel to the United States for the TIGI World Release 2015. Over the past six months Hair with Style staff travelled across the country to achieve this goal.

Apprentice Blake Weekes was invited to work at this year’s Sydney Fashion Week, a huge honour for anyone working in the industry. The staff also attended numerous cutting, colouring and up styling courses throughout the year which allows them to give their clients the best styles and service available.

At Blush Organic Beauty, the new moto “your skin, your body, our passion” is a testimony to their philosophies of customer service and beauty practises. They are extremely passionate about reducing the chemical load on your skin and want to help everybody learn about the importance of chemical free products and reducing your chemical environment and in turn, the stress it takes on your body. “Research has shown that what we put on our skin, our hair and our bodies, the food we choose to eat, our toothpaste and many other products have a direct impact on our health and quality of life.” The staff at Blush will provide you with advice, guidance and quality treatments from knowledgeable beauty therapists using certified natural products for your skin and body, inside and out. They do a range of body and skin treatments as well as eye care, spray tans, make-up and hair removal. Call in and see Melissa or Bianca at Blush on Rankin Street today for advice on all your beauty needs.

Funky art prints, chic and stylish furniture, earthy candles and unique home décor so stunning you have to see it to believe it. Painted Daisies Gift Shoppe is the place to go in Forbes for that perfect present or unique knick-knack for your home. “I have put my own stamp on the business as you have to go with the trend and what the customers want so I keep the basic lines and a variety of other beautiful things in store to keep all my customers happy,” said
Janet from Painted Daises. Janet has recently gone into framing, an asset to the business as quality framing like this isn’t on offer anywhere else in Forbes. Janet offers custom made framing with plenty of different coloured mats to choose from. Janet does framing for any occasion and can offer any name in a frame. “We can do what you like with many different styles of framing for everybody.”

The cold season is dragging its’ feet but that doesn’t mean that style has to fall by the wayside in favour of warm track-pants and bulky jackets. This year every colour is in season with fashionistas pulling out all the
stops and going for “brights” this winter. Textured pieces are all the rage right now with fur, wool, leather and prints becoming a more popular style. Long chunky cardigans are also in fashion for the chilly months with merino knits, scarves and big accessories all a part of the layering trends. Layering jewellery is also a popular fashion statement
in 2015.

Forbes has a wide range of fantastic fashion outlets where you can fulfill all your winter wardrobe desires. At Little Extras Lifestyle you will find everything you need to keep your look fresh and funky through winter. Leigh took over the store 3 years ago and has been a dedicated fashion retailer to the Forbes community ever since. “There was not much to change in the store but I have started to incorporate a few new brands and did a little restructuring as I like to keep things new and exciting,” said Leigh. “At Little Extras, we like to keep things affordable as our best interest is our customers. Customer service is my number 1 priority.” Little Extras have everything when it comes to fashion, including stylish footwear, jewellery, handbags and accessories in all the latest trends. When you walk into the store you will be greeted with a smile and a helping hand from the girls, which is what people in Forbes love about stopping in at Little Extras.

Get down to 1 Templar St to find something you love to add to your wardrobe. Ladybird Boutique is a one stop shop for all 3 generations ranging from teenager through to her grandmother, located at 61 Rankin Street stocking all the latest fashions for women. Ladybird is a country boutique with a 42 year business reputation. Here you will find beautiful items to finish off your winter wardrobe.