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

Workshops are being conducted by Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils in partnership with Transport for NSW West Region. The workshops will be held via MS Teams, on Tuesday 2 May at 10am and on Wednesday 3 May at 7pm, and will run for about an hour.

Councils 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.”

“Local checking day events show that around 80% of the child car seats we 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,” said Ms Suitor.

To book your place, visit the event listing on the Councils Facebook pages or call Ms Suitor on (02) 6861 2364.

The Mates4Harness Flood Relief Anzac Day Race meet will bring the community together to celebrate the Anzac spirit while supporting local flood victims.

A family focused event, the race day will have something for everyone from live music, auctions, free kids amusements, mobile rides, mini trots, ice-cream, free facepainting and of course harness racing action and a drivers invitational race.

Anzac day will also be commemorated with a parade at the course and 2 Up, where punters can try their luck off the track as well.

The day will kick off at 12.15pm at the Eugowra Showground Paceway.

It is great to see the Eugowra community bounce back after the 2022 floods. The huge community and Council effort to get the infrastructure of Eugowra back in shape to host such events is commendable.

If you are looking for something different to do with the family this Anzac Day, head on over to Eugowra to support the community In their recovery efforts.

For more information on the Mates4Harness Flood Relief Harness Race Day, head on over to www.eugowraharnessracing.com or check out Eugowra Harness Racing Club Facebook Page.

The annual Canowindra International Balloon Challenge kicked off on Wednesday, 12th April, with balloons gracing the skies at both sunrise and sunset over the rolling hills of Canowindra.

Canowindra’s biggest festival brings the community together to welcome thousands of visitors, who trek from across the country to celebrate all things ballooning.

There is so much more than just ballooning on offer. Kick off the weekend with the street parade from 10am on Saturday, 15th April.

The main event, the Canowindra Balloon Glow will start at 3pm with plenty on offer for everyone. A true family friendly event, with live music, food, drink and market stalls. It will be an evening not to be missed with Golden Guitar winners, Darlinghurst Band performing alongside local artists.

Festival updates will be posted on the Canowindra International Balloon Challenge facebook page. Get your tickets at 123tix.com.au

Over 70 Leyland P76 cars converged on Parkes last weekend, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th April, to compete for prizes, and more importantly, bragging rights. 

The event was extra special as it combined two events into one – the 18th Nationals of Leyland P76 Clubs across Australasia, that includes all Australian States and New Zealand, and the 50th Anniversary of the release of the P76 car in 1973. 

President of the NSW Leyland P76 Owners Club, Paul Patten said, “It was probably the biggest collection of P76s for some time and possibly the biggest that we will ever see again.” 

The show and shine event was held on Sunday, with over 14 prizes awarded across various categories for first and second place getters. Some of the categories included most original, best restored and best in show. 

Parkes was chosen as the host for this years event due to its central location for the large number of visitors travelling from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. 

Paul extended a big thank you to everyone who attended the event over the weekend and to the Parkes Services Club, HARS Museum, Parkes Telescope and the Visitor Information Centre for their support.

The Golden Plough will be held in Wongarbon on Saturday, 22nd and Sunday, 23rd April. This competition was first held in 1976 and has been fiercely contested ever since. This is the first year it will be hosted in the Dubbo region. 

The Western Branch of the Australian Draught Horse Stud Book Society hosts the two-day annual event which includes, horse working classes, obstacle courses, wagon rides, horse-driven chaff cutter demonstrations along with ladies, junior, novice and veteran ploughing competitions and culminates with the fiercely contested Golden Plough.

Horse drawn ploughing involves skilfully guiding one or two draught horses, pulling a single furrow plough, to create a straight plot of eight runs (minimum) which are judged on linear accuracy, depth, sharpness of cut, total width and how the soil is turned. 

Watch the ploughmen and women battle it out for the Golden Plough trophy, see horsemanship at its best. Bring your family and friends for a great weekend of horsemanship, demonstration events,food stalls and stay longer for fire-side stories, poetry and a camp oven dinner. Day, dinner and weekendpasses available.

For further details go to: www.facebook.com/thegoldenplough or get your and tickets at www.123tix.com.au/events/38544/the-golden-plough

The world acknowledged World Autism Awareness Day on 2nd April. Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) has moved to change the wording to World Autism Understanding Day, in a bid to foster greater consideration and acceptance of autism and Autistic people. 

The most important message is that no two Autistic people are the same and that autism may not be what you think it is. It’s not a one-size-fits all and there is still misunderstanding and stigmatism. 

Jacqui Borland, CEO, Aspect said she applauds the change to World Autism Understanding Day because how we use language to talk about autism and Autistic people is important. 

“The more our wider community understands what life on the autism spectrum can feel like, the more likely it is they will know what environmental adjustments and language will make a difference.” 

Ms Borland added that building an inclusive environment is up to all of us. “The onus must not sit purely on the Autistic person to ‘fit in’ but creating supportive environments for neuro-divergent people is a positive step we can all take.” 

More information is available at www.autismspectrum.org.au/about-autism/our-research/our-research-program/disclosure 

WHAT’S ON MONTHLY CALENDAR

We have a new handy calendar to keep you up to date with all the events and activities at the Parkes Library and Cultural Centre. Hard copies are now available from the library or on our Facebook page.

FRIDAY FLICKS

This 2022 fantasy romantic drama film is described as Aladdin for adults. What would you wish for if you were granted 3 wishes? For lovers of fairy tales this visually marvellous movie will ignite your imagination. Friday 28 April at 6pm. Bookings essential.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

During April school holidays we have some fun activities for all ages. In-person bookings essential. 

Holiday Kids Flick (rated PG for students in K-6) – Friday 14 April 10:30am -12:15pm – FREE

Knight for a Day (for students in K-6) -Tuesday 18 April 10:30am – 12:00pm – $2

Youth Online Book Club starts 20 April.To read the book, The Theory of Hummingbirds, download the indyreads appon your device. Join our book club onlinediscussion at parkeslibrary.freeforums.net

PAINTING GROUP EXHIBITION

Visit the Coventry Room to be inspired by this years Annual Parkes Painting Group Exhibition and vote for the People’s Choice. Artwork is available to purchase on opening night or throughout the 2 weeks of the exhibition. Open during library hours from Saturday 22 April to Saturday 6 May. Opening night: Friday 21 April 6:30-8:30pm ($20 payable at the door)

LEARN SOMETHING NEW IN APRIL 

Social AUSLAN – Saturday 15 and 29April from 10am (FREE). Join us fortnightly in the Makerspace to learn socialAUSLAN with Rose and Annette Jones.

Resin Pouring Workshops – Sunday30 April at multiple times (Fee required).Learn to resin pour and make a decorative board to take home. Bookingsthrough ‘Lil’ Bluebird Resin Art on Facebook.

Ub Ubbo Exchange, in partnership with the Parkes Rotary Club will be holding a special viewing of the film Wiradjuri Ngurambang (Wiradjuri Country), five original songs with film clips used in the project and a trailer for a documentary on Yindyamarra. The viewing will be held on Monday 3rd April at the Pavillion in Cooke Park. 

Wiradjuri Elder Robert Clegg had the vision for a permanent display to protect Wiradjuri artefacts belonging to the Parkes area. 

Ub Ubbo Exchange members Sean James Cassidy and Kerrie Peden were invited to create a digital component to complement the display which can be seen in the foyer area of the Parkes Shire Library. “The Wiradjuri Ngurambang project was a spiritual awakening” said Sean Cassidy. Up and coming filmmaker Joshua Belinfante, one of the editors on this project is a lecturer in film at the University of Newcastle and at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in Sydney.