Kay Craft: Being with family. This year I will be with my son and daughter in Sydney.
Mabel Larsen: Looking at Christmas lights around town. It is pretty cool – I enjoy it!
Liz Macraild: I enjoy the food! Our Christmas food is whatever we decide on. It usually includes links to friendships and places and might be a bit of Russian, a bit of German, and old Australian and Anglo traditions.
Emma Brown: Every year my kids fill up shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. It teaches them to think of others and how privileged they are to live in Australia. Otherwise we share the Christmas cheer with anyone and everyone. It is important to be kind all year long, but after this year it is especially important to look out for people over Christmas.
Debbie Gould: I enjoy being kind, and giving from my heart – not for the accolades and therefore prefer to keep it private and a secret. Things I would be doing include cooking for others, donating to charities like food and toys, supporting Christmas appeals, and buying ‘gifts’ for people in third world countries, like supporting kids to go to school, or helping them to own a goat. I also support Share the Dignity drive every year.
Marty Sammut-Paul (Regional Business Supplies): THINK LOCAL FIRST! Thinking local first and buying local supports Parkes businesses who can then invest in the community by employing local people and giving to community and sporting events through donations and sponsorship.
Chad Hamood (Griffins Leading Edge): Have confidence in your local stores to have stock! When you shop locally you see exactly what you get and you get it the same day! Under the current circumstances you are not guaranteed to get what you buy online, and delivery takes much longer.
Elissa Gillingham (Parkes Décor Shoppe): Support the local businesses who support your sporting teams. People are always asking for donations, but prefer shopping online.
Tracy Adams with Sophie (almost 5): Oh yes, we recycle all the time and everything we possibly can, including collecting bottles and cans to take to Return and Earn. We’ve got my mum into recycling as well, and she is excited about getting 10c for bottles. I am also trying to re-use items like refilling the fabric softener bottle, and repurpose items to make a fairy garden or other projects.
Tiffany Tonkin: Yes, we recycle at home, and ensure to put everything we can into the yellow bin. We also repurpose old clothes by either taking it to Vinnies, or using it for rags or other purposes around the house. I also make sure to buy ceramic pots for my plants that I can re-use, and I keep all the plastic pots to use them again. I have to admit we are hopeless at using the green bin at the moment and I would really like us to start recycling our food scraps.
Dr Stan Grant (snr): It is hard to explain, it means so much. To see our people recognised like this today, makes me so proud. This is my country (I grew up in Dubbo), and the recognition of our long history, culture and our people… it is really big.
Stacy Mader: It is about the acknowledgement of the traditional people of this area, as well as their knowledge of astronomy and to incorporate it into science in Australia.
Ralph Naden OAM: It makes me feel very proud and I hope that everyone will call The Dish by its new name of Murriyang, just like everyone adopted Uluru as the new name for Ayers Rock.
David Potts: Dragon boating is a great form of stress release. The regatta gives us something to aim and train for and it’s a great chance to meet up with others around the region. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday and lose a couple of kilos in the process with some great mates.
Al Gersbach: It would be seeing the results of our training on the water during our races showing improvement as a team. The friendship and support of everyone involved, paddlers, wranglers and fans. Can’t beat it.
Chris Auld:
The joy of a dragon boat regatta
If we do not win it does not matter
To be part of a dragon boat team
To some the ultimate dream
But some prefer the team building chatter
Jenny Ryan: I enjoy the mateship and helping the team in the boat, and giving it my all in the races at regattas.
Laura Miller: I did my first regatta on Sunday and was absolutely amazed by the fun, vibrant, friendly environment. Everyone was simply enjoying themselves. I can’t wait for the next one!
Betsie Johnstone: The company and the friendly club (Parkes Bowling and Sports Club).
Lorraine Baker: The friendship and the fact that bowling actually keeps you fit.
June Burgess: I’ve been playing for five months and I love the company.
Fran Dixon: I enjoy the company and the challenge.
Maureen Miller: I like the challenge – every time is different, and the companionship.
Helen Heraghty: The friendship and it is great to do exercise out in the open.
Charlie Oraha: I have enjoyed everything about the program, it’s definitely something I would recommend because I love learning about my culture. We also get to make new friends. My favourite thing on the program would have been zoom calling Jonathan Thurston.
Trudy Richardson: Getting to know other people and to know what the community does to give back to society.
Jayden Pope: Learning more about our culture and making new friends.
Pictured L-R: Sarah Knowling, Leah Knowling and Rebekah Knowling.
Sarah Knowling (8): It looks really nice and smells good too. There are lots of nice areas to play inside and outside. My favourite place is the seat in the wall where you can sit down.
Leah Knowling: It is very inviting and has a lot more space where different groups can sit and read, study or meet. They’ve done a fabulous job – to be able to reimagine the space and make something that seems so much bigger, while keeping more or less the same footprint. The space has been utilised so well. I really like it with all the little nooks.
Rebekah Knowling (11): It’s awesome! I am just flabbergasted and if I was a little girl I would’ve fallen on my back and looked at everything. I like the outside area, the big screen TV. I like everything. It smells like a new place too.
Doreen Nash (91 years): I am very disappointed, but it is the right thing to do because of COVID. Luckily I have many wonderful memories as I have attended every festival from the very first inaugural dinner that Bob and Anne Steele held at their Gracelands restaurant. In the beginning everyone laughed at such a silly idea to have an Elvis Festival in a town like Parkes and said it would be an embarrassment. The things I loved most about the festivals have been the street parade, the Cooke Park festivities and most of all the Elvis shows at the Parkes Leagues Club and Parkes Services Club. My favourite Elvis has been Mark Andrew Tabone. I also attended the early gospel services in the Big W undercover carpark with my late husband Stewart Nash. These services also grew in popularity and had to be moved to Cooke Park.