Elsie Mahon is a member of the Parkes Potters Group, one of three groups to receive funding from the Parkes Shire Council Cultural Grant Program.

Three community groups will share the almost $9,000 of the 2020 Parkes Shire Council Cultural Grant Program.

Deputy Mayor Councillor Barbara Newton said it was a difficult task to select the successful projects given the high calibre of applications received.

“Council recognises that a robust cultural life is important to the health and wellbeing of any community, and we are therefore delighted to help support the delivery of events and initiatives that stimulate creative activity across our region.”

The successful recipients are the Peak Hill Leisure Art & Craft Council, the Parkes Potters Group and the Parkes Musical and Dramatic Society.

The Peak Hill group received $2,360 for a two-day workshop in early 2021 by Sydney-based artist Alan Slade. Amateur and budding local artists will learn the step-by-step process of working with oil paints.

The $3,500 to the Parkes Potters Group will help to curate the group’s 50th anniversary exhibition, as well as a black-tie opening event.

Parkes Musical and Dramatic Society received $3,000 to host the Arts Revival Festival from 15 – 20 December with the support of the Parkes Shire Arts Advisory Council. The aim of the festival is to revive, celebrate and foster artistic activity in the community and will feature theatrical performances, visual arts, photography, craft and ceramics exhibitions, musical performances of a variety of genres and styles, spoken word performances, creative and performance skills workshops.

The historic 75th anniversary since the end of World War II was commemorated last Saturday with the Parkes Town Crier joining a world wide Cry for Peace at the ceremony at the Cenotaph in Cooke Park.

Tim Keith joined town criers from all over the world for the second time this year after a Cry for Peace on the 75th anniversary of VE Day on 8th May.

The Cry for Peace commemorated this important day in Australia’s history and presented a unique and important opportunity to pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifice made by so many Australians and their families to ensure we all share and enjoy the freedom we have today.

The event, organised by the Parkes RSL Sub Branch, was mostly attended by serving and ex-service men and women with Parkes Mayor Ken Keith as the guest speaker.

On Tuesday it was the 54th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan with a commemoration service held at the Vietnam Memorial in Parkes.

Rene Britts (94) with her wedding photo. She married Archie Britt on 3 October 1946. He passed away in 1985.

Lockdown has lasted for most of the year so far for Southern Cross Village resident Rene Britt, but isolation is not a new experience for her.

At 94 she still clearly remembers how isolated they were during World War II on the family farm outside Bogan Gate. “It was a stay at home time as the only way to get around was with a push bike or on horseback.”

She said although her dad had a truck, they only used it when absolutely necessary as there were petrol rations. “We used to pool our petrol tickets with the neighbours and we’d all jump on the truck to go and play tennis at the different clubs on weekends.”

Their only connection to the outside world was the wireless radio, but they could only listen to the news. “The wireless ran off the truck’s battery, and we had to spare the battery and could only listen for a little bit at a time.”

It was through the wireless that they had learned about the end of the war on 15th August 1945. “We were on a party line and I telephoned our neighbours to let them know the good news. Everyone was so excited, but we did not really celebrate with anyone as it was still hard to go anywhere.”

Rene was 19 at the time and had finished high school the previous year. “I went back to the farm to look after my father and younger brother as my mother had passed away when I was 13.”

She married the following year at 20. “As we even had ration tickets for linen, towels and clothing, my aunties gave me the tickets they did not use and that was the only way I was able to put my glory box together.”

By Maggi Barnard

Ethan Maxwell from Parkes is the winner of the 14-18 age group for drawing and painting with this entry. (See all the winning entries on The Parkes Phoenix Facebook page.)

The Art of Resilience competition has been a huge success with over 130 entries from across the Parkes Shire.

Feedback from schools and parents have shown just how beneficial the competition was for the Parkes Shire youth in providing a platform for important discussions concerning drought, bush fires and COVID-19. It also highlighted the importance of resilience during these events and what it means to the youth in their personal experiences.

The quality of art work entered in all the categories was extremely high, and it was obvious that all participants put their heart and soul into their entries. Judging the competition was extremely difficult with much deliberation required in order to select the winners.

One of the messages which stood out in all the art work was how important nature is to our youth. It showed a strong connection and a deep understanding of the importance of a healthy environment and how fundamental it is to healthy and happy human beings. The importance of human connections, social interaction and friendships during COVID-19 also stood out.

By Roger Kitson