Category: Cultural

Cultural Activities on the Fraser Coast

Gatakers Artspace & precinct

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I’m embarrassed to confess that it took me six months of being back on the Fraser Coast before I ventured to Maryborough’s trendy Gatakers Artspace and precinct.

Sadly time didn’t permit an excessive amount of sightseeing so I skipped the Bond Store and the Military & Colonial Museum (which I’ve also visited previously); but as the much beleaguered Muddy Waters Cafe was reopening after repeated floodings and a new art show, by local artist Gina Davey was being launched, I figured it was a good time to pop down there.

GatakersI’d been to Gatakers Artspace years ago and decided then that I could indeed live in the venue. Its renovation / refurbishment reminds me of some high spec house which should be featuring on Lifestyle TV or the like. I must confess (though) to being a bit underwhelmed last time I visited the gallery – with mostly local knitting on display. This visit however, was much more fruitful, with Davey’s Person of Interest exhibition featuring downstairs and an array of artwork and sculptures upstairs.

In fact I was so mesmerised with a series (by a local artist whose name I’ve forgotten – in bottom right corner of pic) that I even contemplated whether my current state of poverty would permit me to buy one of the pieces.

MuddyWatersI was keen to show Muddy Waters Cafe some support after the bad luck they’ve experienced. I know that building by a river is fraught with danger, but am pretty sure they didn’t expect five floods in three years. The Cafe is now in the Customs House building (home of the former Port Residence), which offers some pleasing views.

Owners Michael and Mia Cox say they are starting small; they are yet to get their liquor licence and only open from 9 – 4 (Tuesday – Sunday) at the moment.

I’ve decided I’ll cut them some slack, as they’re still getting started, but in my case – as a coeliac – gluten-free options were very limited. In fact they were practically non-existent. The helpful waitress said that they could just remove parts of a dish, but it seemed wasteful to pay for something and only receive half of it and nothing tempted me anyway. We were also offered the breakfast menu (all day breakfast I assume) but again there was no GF bread and they were unsure about the chorizo and bacon.

It’s not cheap and I have to admit I won’t be rushing back at this stage. I’ll keep an eye out though because if their menu expands, it is a nice spot and might be worth a second chance. I know people thought well of it previously.

janetsOn the suggestion of my mother and a few locals I also visited Janet’s Art while at that end of town. And… Oh. My. God. I was super-impressed. “Atmosphere and gluten-free options galore!” I tweeted afterwards. I saw several things I was keen to buy, but only left with some cards (Mother’s Day was approaching!).

I picked up a takeaway menu and was pleasantly surprised at the array of GF options on offer. There’s a lovely space out the back which should prove nice during winter and I love that the store supports local artists and jazz.

I’m keen to return to the precinct to make it to Gatakers by Night, which is staged from 5-9pm on the last Saturday (of each full weekend of the month) and features music and artists-in-action. And it’s nice to see that the beautiful space is being put to good use.

Auraview – Last Band Standing Winners

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I’m just home from a sensational night at the Last Band Standing (battle of the bands) at Hervey Bay RSL. The finalists were all superb, and I’m thrilled that one of my favourite bands of the night, Auraview, won!

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The event was a great showcase of live music talent available in the area. Original songs, energetic and tight execution. Just brilliant.

Arcade Vandals put up tough competition. There will be another chance to see them at the Fraser Coast Music Fest. I’m hoping that Auraview will also be performing there (no confirmation yet, so fingers-crossed please). Unfortunately I missed most of Locus, as the venue was at capacity and I had to wait until enough people left before it was my turn to enter, but I heard good things from others in attendance.

I’m absolutely buzzing after a great night out.  Big thanks to my Mummy for babysitting Pickle, so I could have a cracking night out.

Cheers, KangaRue 🙂

Hervey Bay Triathlon: a lesson in sportsmanship

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Last weekend I watched my first triathlon … well, the second half cos seeing the swim leg (the first of the three) would have meant leaving the house before 6.45am and I couldn’t quite motivate myself for that. Nevertheless, I got to see the cycle and run legs and was struck by a number of things.

bikesgirl1. Even the fittest looking athletes seemed to be doing it hard (having said that – by the time they got to where I was they’d already done half of each leg). I was surprised by the grimaces and occasional hand to the stomach as if staving off a stitch.

2. You have to be pretty fit and lean to look good in a lycra onesie. I’m just sayin’… Some of those cycling and running past me were impressive. In fact, I *ahem* may have been guilty of this tweet.

However, lycra is not particularly forgiving if your physique is less-than-perfect.

3. A HELL of a lot of people wear black. My friend Liz, visiting from Brisbane, had told me she’d be in black. An inordinate number of cyclists (men and women alike) went whizzing past me in black so I didn’t see Liz until she was metres away (though thankfully I was near the turnaround point so got a second viewing!

4. A surprising number of people are willing to ‘give it a go’. There were some seriously chubby types (though possibly not as chubby as moi) out and about and I was mightily impressed at their fitness and determination. In fact, I saw familiar faces from around town (possibly in the corporate event and just doing one leg) who I was surprised to see running 10km. As I cannot run 100m anyone running further than that deserves my warmest regards. It was a timely reminder that just ‘trying’ is all-important.

bikes5. Encouragement is appreciated. As I was waiting to see Liz I contemplated how exactly I’d cheer. After all, I was in a pretty isolated place with few people around. Readers of my other blogs may think I have no shame, but I do suffer embarrassment very easily… however when the time came, I was easily able to shriek (in what was – I’m fairly sure – a calm but sexy voice), “Yay Liz!” And “Go, Liz!”

However as the day wore on I found myself feeling obliged to continue to watch ALL of the cyclists and runners – catching their eye and smiling encouragingly.

I got several comments – from the occasional, “Hello!” to, “Thanks for being here!” And even a “It’s great to see your lovely smile!” Which of course meant that I had to forgo playing on my iPod or reading the book I’d brought to beam at everyone and anyone passing by. (Those just out on a morning walk to buy the paper probably wondered why they deserved such a beatific gift!) By the time the stragglers came by at the end – stopping for breath or grimacing painfully I even felt obliged to tell them what a wonderful job they were doing. When someone said they wished they were in my spot (lolling about on the thick green grass), I replied that I envied their ability to get out there and try.

bikes runners6. The camaraderie was AMAZING. A few of the cyclists whizzing by knew each other and cheered their friends, counterparts or opponents as they circled the halfway point. Others offered encouraging words to the slower cyclists as they left them in their dust.

But it was during the run leg that I noticed it the most. “Great running,” I’d hear as one fit looking person overtook another. And when I heard “Great work,” and it was someone with a greyhound-like body talking to someone-who-shouldn’t-wear-lycra, I looked for signs of sarcasm or condescension, but saw nothing of the kind. Just lots of cheering each other on. I mean, I know it wasn’t an Olympic event, but still… it was nice to see that support and camaraderie.

And that, folks, is what I’ll take away from last weekend’s event. That no matter how stuffed someone might be or how superior someone might be, to offer a kind word of encouragement to others can mean more than you can imagine. After all, I wasn’t even IN the event, but have a newfound respect for the solidarity that comes from competing (as one). Many of those there weren’t in it to win it; they were wanting to better their previous time, or just finish the bloody thing. Many were just there to try. (And as for the locals… I think it was a case of ‘If you build it, they will come!’)

Oh… and if you’ve got lots of wobbly bits, you might want to avoid lycra (or at least stick to black). That’s another lesson for those playing along at home.

Have you expected fierce competitiveness and found, instead, goodwill? 
Do you ‘do’ lycra? More importantly, SHOULD you do lycra?*

*Am being facetious obviously. I’m a strong believer that anyone should wear whatever they like. (Well, within reason… 😉 )

Fraser Coast Vintage Movie Club

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One of my fondest childhood memories is of Sunday afternoons spent baking chocolate slice and watching old movies from the comfort of my lime green beanbag (while eating the aforementioned slice. Or milk arrowroot biscuits and icing. But that’s a whole other story!).

Given that Maryborough only had two TV channels back in the 70s and 80s I can only assume that ABC TV was responsible for my love of Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds, Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney.

So it is with great excitement that today I discovered that the Maryborough and Hervey Bay libraries will be featuring classic movies on a monthly basis as part of their Vintage Movie Club.

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I know you can rent many old movies for a pittance from the local video library (well, if you have one… as mine in Urangan recently closed!), but surely it won’t have the same atmosphere as watching it in a room with other classic movie buffs. Plus, in my little mind it’s important to support Council initiatives when it comes to the often-ignored arts.

Spaces are limited so bookings are essential and can be made by contacting your library:  Maryborough 4190 5788 or Hervey Bay 4197 4220.

Click here for a full list of movies and their screen times and dates. 

Any movie buffs out there? 
What old movie would YOU like to see featured?

Good, not bad; charming not tedious

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“It is absurd to divide people into good or bad. People are either charming or tedious.” Oscar Wilde

A couple of weeks ago I shuffled off to Hervey Bay’s Z-Pac theatre in Zephyr Street, to see its production of  The Importance of Being Earnest.

I have to admit to practically being a local theatre virgin, vaguely recalling a play I saw in my hometown of Maryborough back in my school days, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. My fellow theatre-goer and I decided we shouldn’t be too judgemental and I (quite possibly) set the what-will-I-think-of-this bar quite low.

And was I surprised!?! (Hint: it’s a rhetorical question!)

The two male leads were superb. Bradley Chapman, the play’s director, was excellently annoying as Algernon Moncrieff… one of the play’s two E(a)rnests. His performance and Wilde’s words resulting in much chuckling and guffawing. Michael Ware as John Worthing was also excellent and his frustrated E(a)rnest was convincing. My personal fave was probably Tamara Bailey’s Lady Bracknell (Algernon’s aunt and mother to John’s love interest). Her haughty and comedic delivery was perfect.

Taylor Dunn and Tayla Harding were great as Gwendolyn and Cecily and I was mightily impressed by Jonathon Dunn’s changing accents in his dual roles. In fact, I was quite shocked that the cast maintained their English accents for the entire play. No easy feat I assume.

And as for the script / dialogue…. how they could memorise those lines is beyond me. I can barely remember my own phone number! *Insert slight pause while I try to test this assertion!*

The production was polished, sets simple but effective and costumes good. I particularly liked the segway between the first two acts and the move from London to Herfortshire… it was very smooth in its unashamed obviousness (Dunn’s dual character physically changing – jacket, boots and hat – from Algernon’s supercilious butler to John’s ummm… more-common manservant).

All in all it was an excellent start to my local theatre-going adventures and I’ll certainly be back for more. In fact… I even downloaded a Z-Pac application form wondering if I could be of some use behind the scenes!

*Photograph compliments of The Fraser Coast Chronicle.