Get ready for an unforgettable experience at the Canowindra International Balloon Challenge Festival, running from 26 April to 4 May, as hot air balloons take to the sky in a stunning display of colour and excite­ment. Set against the backdrop of the pic­turesque town of Canowindra, this weeklong balloon festival is not to be missed, offering a mix of breathtaking aerial views, vibrant events, and a community atmos­phere like no other.

A Warm Welcome Awaits

The festivities kick off on 26 April with the Welcome Street Party, a fantastic evening to meet locals, fellow visitors, and enjoy the market stalls and live entertainment. Par­ticipate in the much anticipated BBQ Mas­ters Competition and pitch your BBQ skills among the region’s best BBQers.

As the balloons begin to rise in the early mornings and late afternoons, you’ll wit­ness one of the most visually captivating spectacles, as dozens of hot air balloons fill the skies, creating a kaleidoscope of colors against the rural landscape. It’s a sight to behold!

Festival Highlights – More Than Just Balloons

While the hot air balloons are undoubtedly the stars of the show, the Canowindra Bal­loon Festival offers so much more. Flicker Fest, a celebration of short films, will light up the screen, while wine lovers can in­dulge in some of the region’s finest at the wine tastings event.

Test your trivia knowledge with a fun trivia night, and enjoy the warm, friendly atmos­phere as the town comes alive throughout the week. Along with art shows, the bou­tique stores of Canowindra and the array of other events during the week – it is truly a festival not to be missed.

Friday, 2 May is set to be one of the festival’s standout nights with the Home Ground Sounds Live Music Concert. Fea­turing incredible live performances, this event promises to be a great way to enjoy the evening under the stars with friends and family. The music will have you danc­ing the night away.

On Saturday, 3 May, the festival will host a spectacular Street Parade that will wind its way through Canowindra’s vibrant his­toric main street – Gaskill Street. Be sure to grab a front-row seat for the parade, and then get ready for the highlight of the week­end – the Cabonne Community Glow on Saturday evening. Gates open at 3pm, so come early to secure your spot and enjoy the festivities.

The Glow will light up the night sky as over 100 stallholders set up shop with deli­cious food, handcrafted goods, and unique finds. Live music, entertainment for the kids along with an array of other activities will entertain throughout the afternoon and into the night. As dusk falls, the hot air balloons will take part in a glowing display, lighting up the evening sky – an absolute spectacle for all ages.

Convenient Parking and Camping

his year, we’re excited to introduce a dedicated parking area for visitors attend­ing the Home Ground Sounds Concert and Cabonne Community Glow. Located just a short walk from the Sports Complex, it ensures a smooth and easy arrival for fes­tival-goers.

Additionally, festival fans traveling with caravans will love the new camping area, conveniently located close to the Main Street – Gaskill Street, offering a comfort­able base for the entire festival. The area is available for 10-day bookings, so you can fully immerse yourself in the festival’s offerings without missing a moment of the action.

Tickets – Don’t Miss Out!

With so much to see and do, tickets for the festival events are available through www.123tix.com.au, where you can se­cure your spot at the most popular events.

Whether you’re attending a concert, the Ca­bonne Community Glow, or any other event that is part of the festival, be sure to grab

your tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Why You Should Visit

The Canowindra Balloon Festival is more than just an event – it’s a chance to be part of something magical. From the stunning hot air balloons gracing the skies to the vi­brant local community coming together for live music, street parades, and the unfor­gettable glow event, this festival promises fun for the whole family. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a long-time festival-goer, you’ll leave with memories that will last a lifetime.

Mark your calendars for 26 April to 4 May and prepare to be dazzled by the wonder of the Canowindra International Balloon Chal­lenge Festival! For more information go to www.canow­indrachallenge.org.au

Gail Richardson is a mother of two, a carer for her sister, a Property Manager at Ray White Parkes, and the owner and qualified trainer of Bartley’s Barkers.

Gail started Bartley’s Barkers with her first dog CJ, a Red Cloud Kelpie, approxi­mately 20 years ago. In addition to provid­ing one-on-one training in Parkes at her training facilities, Gail can also provide training via skype. Gail claims, “A dog is only ever as good as the owner is at train­ing it.”

“I also work with adults and children that have scare issues with dogs and children who have learning issues or are on the spectrum,” continued Gail.

Gail came up with the idea for the Hound Dog competition six years ago and pre­sented it to the committee as a concept that would add to the festival. “Elvis loved dogs and horses, so Hound Dog was an easy fit,” said Gail.

The Hound Dog competition will be held on Friday 10 January outside the Ray White Office on Clarinda Street. The competition features three categories: best dressed Elvis festival themed, best dressed owner/dog combo and best dressed Elvis jump­suit. Entry is $10 per dog and they can en­ter one or all categories. Dogs must walk the red carpet where they will be judged and prizes awarded. Entry forms are avail­able at the Ray White Office or by calling 6862 1900 and the cut-off time is 9am on the day of the event.

What if Forbes’ Spooners Oval was dug up and turned into a garden for bogon moths? That’s one of the provocative idea suggest­ed by Forbes artist Ro Burns.

VISION 20/50 an (im)possible festival is regional arts organisation Arts OutWest’s speculative, hypothetical festival project that positions artists as engineers of an op­timistic future. The ambitious nine-month project will wrap up with a public event in Bathurst on Thursday 12 December 2024.

“We tasked regional artists, across mul­tiple arts disciplines, to imagine an artwork that could only be made in the year 2050, and to imagine the world in which that art­work could exist,” explains project director Adam Deusien.

After a series of public workshops and a call for ideas, the nine selected artists par­ticipated in a residency weekend facilitated by Deusien and All Tomorrow’s Futures art­ist and futurist Ana Tiquia.

Ro Burns’ hypothetical work takes us to a future without contact sport, where Forbes’ Spooner Oval is now a pattern of nectarproducing plants that support a bogong moth colony. Her artwork is an annual cel­ebration of the moth’s mass emergence.

“The work challenges the community to consider the unthinkable – the loss of cul­ture, and cultural icons and the re-evalua­tion of priorities in the face of environmen­tal and social upheaval,” Ms Burns said.

The artists – who normally work across music, painting, conceptual art, photog­raphy, weaving, film and theatre – have pushed into new, hybrid artforms with their invented works.

The launch event will include panel dis­cussions, short films and networking. The nine works will be launched at VISION 20/50 an (im)possible festival on Thursday 12 December, from 5.30pm at Keystone 1889 in Bathurst.

Arts OutWest and Peak Hill locals will turn The Carrington into an exhibition space over summer. Arts OutWest will show ‘Behind the Lens’ photography and photo media by AOW Media Associates, previously shown in Forbes and Bathurst. ‘Peak in Focus’ are photos by local photographers in Peak Hill.

The exhibitions will be housed in the his­toric The Carrington building in Peak Hill, a community owned space ran as a commu­nity event / function centre that was once a pub. The exhibitions open Wednesday 4 December at 5pm and will run until 5 Febru­ary 2025.

The exhibitions have been coordinated with photographer, Peak Hill local and Arts OutWest Media Associate Judi Unger. “A big thanks to Arts of West for bringing the ‘Behind the Lens’ to the Peak Hill Carrington to share this exhibition and to help promote the Carrington as an exhibition venue.

Also, thanks to our local photographers for taking part in the ‘Peak in Focus’ exhibi­tion to help support and promote Arts Out­West, our town and the Carrington,” said Judi Unger.

The Peak Hill photographers include Cliff George, Dave Laming, Ruth Simmons, An­nette and Ellie Parker, Marg Edwards, Judi Unger, Nathan Leach, Betty Zdan, Julie Westcott and Elizabeth Luke.

The opening event includes a raffle. Steve Lindsay is donating one night’s accommo­dation for two people at his grand Victorian style mansion in Parkes – The Buchanan.

Tickets $5 each. The lucky door prize is a glass Picasso style mosaic work created by Susan Maddison.

The Canowindra Christmas Market is fast approaching. Organised and presented by the Canowindra Progress Association, the Christmas Market is supported by Ca­bonne Council and the NSW Government Open Streets funding, making it possible to fund this free family event.

Come along and find all your Christmas gifts with Canowindra businesses, market stalls and more. Food stalls will be set up on Gaskill Street with Salt Bush Lamb, epic wedges, sausage sizzles, burgers and Thai food.

The kids zone will be in full swing with face painting by Sue Hodge, the jumping castle in the Canowindra Services Club, and two fun games with inflatable soccer darts and inflatable axe throw to keep the kids entertained for hours.

Also for the kids, grab the “Canowindra Passport” and get your paper stamped at different stops and shops and go into the draw to win a great prize with thanks to The Age of Fishes Museum.

Entertainment from Sik As, Nerida Cuddy and De Ja Vu will keep the party atmos­phere going all evening.

See you there on 29th November! Gaskill Street closes at 3pm to traffic and the Christmas Markets commence at 5pm.

Members converged in Forbes from eve­ry state and territory across Australia. Their aim was to get to know the area, spend money in the district and support local charities during their ten-day stay.

Robyn Miller, President of Forbes Even­ing Branch CWA sourced ‘Welcome to Forbes’ packs which were distributed to rally members.

The Bushtrackers held a spit roast com­petition, using the coals to then hold a camp oven competition the next day. The CWA were invited to judge the Bushtrack­ers camp oven cooking competition. Three members, Anne Reade (Forbes CWA), Gail McKay (Bogan gate CWA) and Vicki Williams (Evening CWA) put their judging skills to use, examining the cooking with the usual CWA judging criteria.

The Forbes Evening Branch CWA was then invited to cater for their farewell morn­ing tea with over 120 rally members attend­ing. CWA members prepared a delicious mixed spread, receiving many compli­ments for their efforts. To support the local community further, the Bushtrackers paid for all the ingredients.

Rally organisers shopped in Forbes for prizes for their auction at their gala dinner, catered for by Eat Your Greens.

Robyn Miller said, “It has been estimated that the Bushtrackers spent in excess of $26,000 in our local community during their ten-day stay.”

Through the proceeds of the auction and other activities, the Bushtrackers organis­ing committee were able to make consider­able donations to local charities. Some of the beneficiaries were: Toy Library $1,500, Sunshine Club $1,500, Forbes History Mu­seum $1,000, Forbes Town Library $1,500, Forbes CWA $1,500 for air-conditioning in CWA Hall, Forbes Evening CWA Branch $1,500 for Youth Education.

Music NSW and Arts OutWest will host a Music Industry Mixer to bring together peo­ple in the music scene in the Forbes and Parkes area.

Head along for networking on Thursday 23 October 6pm to 7.30pm at the Vanden­berg Hotel Forbes.

This event is led by MusicNSW Regional Coordinator for the Central West, Outback and West Darling regions, Sophie Jones.

Join Sophie and Arts OutWest’s Kylie Shead for an opportunity to connect, col­laborate, and explore opportunities in your local music scene. Let these organisations know who you are and what you do.

Local bands and independent artists, venues and others in the live performance and recording industry have been invited.

No need to book, just turn up.

Working with regional arts development organisations like Arts OutWest, the Re­gional Music Coordinator delivers develop­ment, builds relationships between local in­dustry and artists, and provides support for regional musicians, venues and live music professionals to grow regional touring.

Sophie Jones is an experienced tour­ing musician, one half of the duo Smith & Jones.

If you can’t make it to the Mixer you can book a one-to-one chat with Sophie Jones via sophie@musicnsw.com