The Forbes Christmas Carnival is ready to roll and will open to the public at 5pm on Friday 8 December. Forbes Business Chamber is pleased to bring the carnival festivities to the community and hope that lots of people will join in and celebrate. 

“There are market stalls, giant games, rock climbing wall, bungee trampolines, 

jumping castles, Tea Cup merry-go-round and arts and craft activities. Food is provided by established Forbes businesses and food vans that will be dotted around the site” said Aaron Acheson, President, Forbes Business Chamber. 

The Carnival will be located in the central business area of Templar Street, Rankin 

and Battye Streets. The Committee ask that vehicles are removed from the site no later than 12 noon for the street closures to take place prior to set up beginning. 

“Forbes and the surrounding villages are well and truly due for a fabulous Christmas celebration. There will be so much to see and do such as face painting, free balloon hand outs and even a visit from Mr and Mrs Claus.” said Aaron Acheson 

Entertainment and music are on the stage located at the junction of the two streets. 

Thank to many people who have offered to assist and a huge thank you to those 

who are participating. 

Many businesses have been very generous with time and funds and have worked tirelessly to get the Christmas spirt alive and well in Forbes. 

Keep clicking on the QR every time you purchase at a participating business to be in the draw to win. The colourful Find It In Forbes Christmas tree will be displayed out the front of their store. Remember if you can not enter the draw digitally with the QR code then we can offer you a manual option for the draws if you need it.

The Trees are out. Each participating business will have a wonderful timberChristmas Tree out the front of their business or close to their front door. 

Aaron Acheson said “We are so pleased to be able to offer $20,000 in prizes this year. It has been a tough year so the Forbes Business Chamber is delighted to have kept the draws to encourage local shopping”. 

The draws began on November 13th.“All you need to do is scan the QR Code in store and fill in the details. If you don’t have a phone each store will have a manual sheet. We want to make sure that everyone has a fair turn,” said Aaron Acheson. $500 draws will be held on Thursday afternoons on the 16, 23 and 30th November, 7, 14 and 21 December. 5 x $500 draws will take place at the AMAZING Forbes Christmas Carnival on the 8 December. The remaining draws for the 23 December are 6 x $500, 1 x $1500, 2 x $2500 and 1 x $5000 giving a total funding pool of $20000. 

Participating businesses offering support for the Find It In AMAZING Forbes This Christmas. The businesses Acheson’s Mitre 10, AgriWest, Allure On Main, Bernardis, Blue Sky Outdoors, Blush Organic Beauty, Bowns Sports Power, Cahills Footwear Forbes, Chapter Two Boutique, C&D Floorcovering, Euphoria Road, Flannery’s Pharmacy, Forbes Automotive Services and ARB, Forbes Business Chamber Inc., Forbes Central Butchery, Forbes Shire Council, Forbes Small Engines, Graces Hair Studio, Gunns Menswear and Embroidery, HozPots Garden Centre, Isabel’s Café, Jessica’s Beauty, Life Pharmacy, Little Extras Lifestyle, Loomzys FishNFix, News On Rankin, MD Steel, Phillip Wells Optometrist, Robbs Jewellers, Steel Technology, Terry Bros Carpet Court, The Bakehouse, The Book Dispensary, Turners Furniture One, Undercover Sleepwear and Lingerie and WA Knights Cranes, Walkers AgNVet.

Khub Forbes have Launched their annual Kmart wishing tree appeal in conjunction with the Salvation Army. Many families are doing it tough – which is why we’re asking our community to come together and support those who need it most. 

The Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal is Australia’s largest and longest-running gift collection drive. It has been helping assist those in need in local communities at Christmas and beyond for over 30 years. Working with the Salvation Army, and with the generous support of our customers, Kmart have donated over $5.6 million and 10 million in gifts distributed to those in need at Christmas. There are six wishing tree champions in every Kmart store – that is over 1300 team members that are dedicated to helping support local communities. 

The Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal supports children, adults, seniors and families who are unable to afford gifts at Christmas and beyond Christmas. 

With more than 760,000 children currently living in poverty, Kmart alongside The Salvation Army are working together to give hope to Australians who may be struggling with homelessness, illness or family crisis. 

Kmart along with The Salvation Army are coming together for the 36th year to help support those doing it tough. We encourage you to embrace the spirit of giving this year by supporting the Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal, by making a cash contribution in store, or online, or giving a gift in store. The Appeal runs from 13- 24 December 2023. 

Forbes Khub Store Manager wants the local communities to know that “these donations stay local as we work alongside the parkes/forbes salvation army to distribute these gifts”. 

Parents, carers and grandparents of young children are invited to attend one of two free online workshops being held to provide important safety information about child car seats. 

The workshops will be held via MS Teams, Wednesday 22 November at 10am and again at 7pm. 

The Council’s Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said the correct selection, installation and adjustment of child car seats is vital in ensuring children’s safety when travelling in vehicles. 

“The workshop will cover the National Child Restraint Laws, types of child car seats available, correct installation and adjustment, when to move to the next car seat, accessories, tips for secondhand car seats and much more”. 

“It will be a great refresher for grandparents, as child car seats and the rules have changed a lot since they had their children, but also for parents and carers as they are navigating their way through their child or children’s growth”. 

“The results of our local checking day events show that around 80% of the child car seats that were checked were incorrectly installed. Transport for NSW research shows that children who are not restrained correctly are seven times more likely to sustain life- threatening injuries in a crash than those who are properly secured. It is so important to ensure your precious cargo is safe” Ms Suitor said. 

These online workshops were the first of their kind when they were trialed in May 2023. 

“There were almost 20 families that took part in the May workshops. Participants rated the workshop 4.75 out of 5, said they would be very likely to recommend it to a friend or family member and were glad they had attended” Ms Suitor said. 

To book your place use this link: https:// bit.ly/NovemberWorkshops2023 or call on (02) 6861 2364.

You are invited to meet two fantastic authors, Pamela Cook and Penelope Janu, when they launch their latest book, A Country Vet Christma at Forbes Library on Wednesday 25th October at 2pm.

Pamela Cook is an author, podcaster and teacher who writes page-turning contemporary women’s fiction, delving deep into the psychology of her characters and the complexity of relationships in all their forms. She has had four novels published traditionally and two independent titles.

Pamela writes women’s fiction set in locations you’ll want to escape to, and stories that will keep you turning the page. Her novels feature tangled family relationships, the ups and downs of friendship, and explore issues like grief and loss, belonging and love. They aim to tug at your heart-strings so if you cry while you’re reading Pamela’s books, her goal is achieved! But don’t worry – there will also be a hopeful ending.

And author Penelope Janu writes stories about clever and adventurous women who don’t mean to fall in love, but do.

Penelope Janu has a passion for creating stories that explore social and environmental issues, but her novels are fundamentally a celebration of Australian characters and communities. Her first novel, In at the Deep End, came out with HarperCollins/ HQ in 2017. Since then, she’s had a novella and six novels published, the most recent being her January 2023 release, Shelter from the Storm.

Penelope enjoys riding horses, exploring the Australian countryside and dreaming up challenging hiking adventures. Nothing makes her happier as a writer than readers falling in love with her clever, complex and adventurous characters.

Their latest project is A Country Vet Christmas – a heartwarming collection of five brand-new festive stories from favourite Australian authors about country vets, love and small-town Christmas charm.
Come to meet these fascinating women supported by The Book Dispensary, Forbes.

ABBA fans from all over the world are set to pack their dancing shoes, sparkly outfits and head to the worlds one and only ABBA Festival in Trundle this Saturday, 14th October 2023.

We hope you’re in the mood for a dance, as returning to headline the festival is the world’s number one ABBA tribute band, Bjorn Again. These super troupers put on a fantastic show at the Parkes Leagues Club last year following the cancellation of the festival and we’re keen to see them have the time of their lives as they perform on this year’s festival stage.

Three fabulous bands will support Bjorn Again and ensure Trundle’s Berryman Oval is full of Dancing Queens throughout the day. The hottest live disco show on the circuit, Disco Revolution is set to have the crowd dancing to classic hits from the 70’s and 80’s.

For those who prefer to shake their tailfeather, the fun-loving Blues Brothers Re-Booted will entertain with their soul, rhythm and blues set.

Trundle ABBA Festival also continues to showcase local talent, with Parkes trio, Amitie, back by popular demand to harmonise with sweet sounds from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

Mayor of Parkes Shire, Councillor Niel Westcott, said “We are delighted to finally be hosting the Trundle ABBA Festival again this year. We have secured some of the best acts in live music and are thrilled to have Bjorn Again headlining.”

“Trundle is the home of the ABBA Festival, and we can’t wait to light up the streets with music and glitter once again,” he added.

It’s time to dance and jive and have the time of your lives at the Trundle ABBA Festival. Tickets go on sale Monday 3rd July, with youth and group discounts available. For more information, visit www.trundleabbafestival.com.au

The Forbes Garden Club will be hosting open gardens this weekend 14th and 15th October, with eight magnificent gardens on display.

The wristbands and maps needed for entry to all gardens will be available at Forbes Riverside Community Gardens 59/71 Reymond Street from 9.30am each day. The cost is $20 to visit all gardens or should you wish to just visit an individual garden, the cost will be $5. All gardens are open from 10am to 4pm on both days. 

Riverside Community Gardens will be serving a delicious morning tea for a gold coin donation. The Forbes Men’s shed will be catering for lunch at garden number 5 from 11am onwards and will also have fresh cake and slices for sale made by Garden club members.

Beautiful weather is expected, so take advantage of the opportunity to get out and about and support the charities of the garden owners choice.

Parkes QUE members look forward to your company this Sunday, 8th October, 10am-4pm at the Parkes Racecourse and in the five open gardens. Money raised stays in our local community, supporting hearing, speech, and wellbeing. 

291 Back Yamma Road

Two years ago this property was a cow paddock! Last November the nearby creek flooded the garden and the house, and during this last winter the garden has endured severe frosts! This garden was chosen for our Open Gardens event to show people how quickly a garden can be established, and what plants will survive the “sometimes

harsh” weather conditions. We anticipate opening this garden again in a year or two so that viewers can measure progress.

5 Arana Place

The drought-tolerant front garden is easy care and sustainable. The back garden provides the visitor with a totally different perspective and includes a Balinese hut, decorative items such as water fountains, plants, shade, and garden art – all providing a calming and relaxing atmosphere.

1 Jubilee Street

This is a plant lovers haven, especially under the back deck where the owner has a huge variety of very loved indoor and outdoor plants and hanging baskets. Screening trees surround the house and provide a wonderful forum for the collection of artworks, sculptures, mirrors etc.

35-37 Thomas Street

With over a hundred different species, these extensive surrounding gardens have been

through quite the makeover in the last two years! Featuring a broad range of unique Australian natives alongside a careful selection of exotic plants, this garden abounds with vibrancy and colour.

Cnr Reymond and Jones Street 

This is a wanderer’s paradise with lavender, pink jade, a vibrant Loropetalum with its unique tussle flowers, and a wonderful Bohemia Butterfly Tree, all with a magnificent view to the east of Parkes. (best parking in Jones Street)