Maggi Barnard

The River Spirit Dancers will perform at the NAIDOC day of celebration on 10th July at the Bushman Hill Indigenous precinct.

NAIDOC Week starts on Sunday, 3rd July until Sunday, 11th July and this year’s theme is Heal Country!

The Parkes community is invited to a day of celebration on Saturday, 10th July at the Bushman Hill Indigenous precinct in Wentworth street for a three-hour program packed with entertainment from 11.30am.

Performing live will be the River Spirit Dancers, local band – 3 Day Bender and the Parkes Shire Concert Band. There will also be didgeridoo playing, service provider stalls, face painting, jewellery making and a special NAIDOC award ceremony.

Parkes Rotary will be cooking a free sau-sage sizzle lunch, while there will also be some traditional foods to sample. The hot food van Spuddy Buddy, and a coffee van will also be there.

COVID restriction rules may apply, and a hand sanitising station will be available and community members must sign in and keep to the social distancing rules.

If the weather turns inclement the event will be relocated to the Parkes High School Hall.

NAIDOC 2021 invites the nation to embrace First Nations’ cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of Australia’s national heritage and equally respect the culture and values of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders as they do the cultures and values of all Australians.

Heal Country is a call to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction.

Country that is more than a place and inherent to our identity. Country that we speak about like a person, sustaining our lives in every aspect – spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally.

Paint Parkes REaD will be back on 10th September this year, and the theme is RHYMINGLY… traditional nursery rhymes, contemporary rhymes, and ditties, made up rhymes – all things rhyming…

Schools and preschools have been doing craft and artwork based on the theme, and preschoolers and K-2 students will create banners for the art exhibition at Parkes Show.

The committee is delighted that they will again be able to celebrate literacy and spread the “read, talk, sing and rhyme to children right from birth” message with the community on 10th September.

The annual reading day has become one of the highlights in the community, and Parkes has been recognised as the town that knows how to stage a great reading day among the many Paint The Town Read communities.

At the recent National Conference in Sydney, this sentiment was announced by the organisers and participants were encouraged to make their way to Parkes for the 10th of September to “see how it’s done”.

Paint the Town REaD first began in Parkes in 1998 and has now grown to include more than 90 communities across Australia. Paint the Town REaD promotes the importance of early literacy and uses a whole of community approach encouraging everyone to come on board to talk, read, sing, rhyme, draw and play with children every day from birth.

Competition – Guess Who?

Can you guess who is the person in the Cat in the Hat costume next to Rhonda Brain on the photo?

Text your name, phone number and answer to 0418 412 093, and stand a chance to win one of three children’s books! Closing date: Friday, 16th July.

Due to the current NSW Health Order to keep everyone COVID safe, the wearing of face masks is now required for library visitors aged 13+. Patrons are also required to sign-in on entry, sanitise their hands and physically distance.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

Free Friday Flicks for Kids – Friday, 2nd July 10:30am-12:30pm and Thursday, 8th July 10:30am-12:30pm
Come and see a G rated movie for free. Popcorn supplied. Ages: Kinder to Year 6 Bookings required – call 68612309 to book a place!

FRIDAY FLICKS

Our next movie will be during NAIDOC week on Friday, 9th July at 10:30am. Come and enjoy an intimate and compassionate observational documentary from the perspective of a 10-year-old boy. Tickets are free for library members, but bookings are essential. Call 6861 2309 to book your seat!

AUTHOR TALK: DIANNE O’BRIEN

Friday, 16th July @ 6pm. Limited places, bookings required on 6861 2309.
From stolen childhood to remarkable leader, join Dianne O’Brien as she shares her extraordinary life of survival and triumph. Her book, Daughter of the River Country, is a compelling and ultimately inspiring story from a victim of the ‘stolen generations’. Dianne O’Brien, known as Aunty Di, is currently the Chairperson of Mingaletta Corporation, an ATSI community hub. In 2017 she was named ‘NSW Grandparent of the Year’.

THE OLYMPIANS OF THE PARKES SHIRE

Parkes Library has curated a display in partnership with the Henry Parkes Museum, to honour the Olympians who at some stage called the Parkes Shire home. In the lead up to and during the Tokyo Olympic Games this display will commemorate the stories of eight local Olympians.

The “mushroom” display case in Parkes Library, featuring the first two of the eight Olympians of the Parkes Shire, with the special banner of Rex Aubrey made in 2016.

The Tokyo Olympic Games start in three weeks’ time and in the lead up to and during the Games, the Parkes Library will put the spotlight on our town’s eight Olympians with a special display.

Each fortnight two Olympians will be featured starting with Rex Aubrey and Nira Windeatt (née Stove). Both were swimmers, with Parkes’s very first Olympian, Rex Aubrey, competing in the 1952 Helsinki Games, while our first female Olympian, Nira Stove, took part in the 1976 Montreal Games.

The displays will feature images, information and items that relate to each of the eight Parkes Shire Olympians, including the amazing banners made in 2016 prior to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

The other Olympians to be featured are Ted McGlynn and Jim Bailey, who both competed in athletics at the 1956 Mel-bourne Olympics; Stephen Davies, who played for the Kookaburras at the Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games; Peter McMahon competed at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in equestrian; and Mariah Williams and Scott Westcott who competed in Rio de Janeiro in hockey and the marathon respectively.

Some of the items on display are on loan from the Henry Parkes Museum and Parkes Visitor Information Centre. Information and images are from Parkes Library’s history blog www.historyparkes.org

Rachel and Richard Rice hosted guests via Home Hosting in 2019, and encourage other locals to sign up and help the festival.

With the Parkes Elvis Festival shaping up to be one of the biggest ever, the help of the community is needed to provide accommodation for the more than 24,000 visitors expected to attend.

Parkes accommodation providers are booked to capacity and with six months to go, the festival is already receiving an unprecedented volume of enquiries for alternative options.

“Home hosting is a great opportunity for festival fans to experience the welcoming community essence of Parkes,” said festival director Cathy Treasure. “What better way for locals to showcase their commu-nity spirit by opening their homes to new and potentially ongoing friendships for future festivals.”

Cathy said accommodation was the biggest challenge to the growth of the festival. “We are receiving calls every day from people wanting accommodation. Many attendees are feeling disappointed; they have attended our festival religiously for many years and are struggling to find a place to stay in 2022.”

Cathy said there were over 200 people currently on a waiting list with Ray White who needed a bed.

Ray White’s Home Hosting manager Gail Richardson urges homeowners to register early. “Fans want to know they have accommodation early.”

Rachel Rice first joined the Home Hosting program in 2019 to support the festival. “I found it very easy working with Ray White, and will definitely do it again.” She said the bonus was that the income they received helped to pay for the holiday they took when renting out their home.

“We urge anybody going away over the festival period or with a room to spare to consider the Home Hosting program so we can continue to take bookings,” said Gail. Ray White’s policies ensure that all homes have necessary contents insurance and are inspected for cleanliness, suitability, and comfort.

For those with reservations, Ray White works with homeowners to match suitable tenants to relevant households. With payment for Home Hosting debited into participants’ account before Christmas, the program offers homeowners an incentive of a bit of extra cash to cover the expenses of the festive season. If you are interested in the Home Hosting Program, you are invited to attend an information session at the Parkes Leagues Club on 14th July from 5-7pm. To register for the information session or for further information contact Gail on 6862 1900 or via elvis.parkes@raywhite.com.