Sharon Greenaway

IT’S TIME FOR LOCAL BANDS TO BATTLE IT OUT

IT’S TIME FOR LOCAL BANDS TO BATTLE IT OUT

Nine up and coming local acts will take to the stage to compete in this year’s Bendigo Battle of the Bands from 6pm on Friday August 5 at BRIT’s MacGillivray Hall.

City of Greater Bendigo Youth Worker Rory White said FReeZA’s MIC UP Productions are proud to host this year’s local heat of Battle of the Bands,

“This is shaping up to be a not to be missed event featuring nine quality performers and bands who will all be competing for a coveted spot in the FReeZA Push Start Regional Finals set to take place in Melbourne later in the year.

“Act’s appearing at this year’s local battle include rock bands Blackbird, Oh Pacific, Low Point and Post Luminescene, alternative acoustic act Dao, metal bands Ten Days till Dawn and Fractal and the more hardcore We the Dreams and Sandpit Heroes.

“Many of these bands have developed a strong following in the local music scene while others are still cutting their teeth they are sure to impress and develop their own following in a short time.

“One thing for sure is that with such a wide range of styles being represented it will definitely provide for an intense battle,” said Rory.

He said Bendigo is fast becoming a breeding ground for young musos and the Battle of the Bands is a great way to experience young talent on the rise.

“Last year’s winner, 15 year old Alternative/ Folk singer/songwriter Cass Ward, won both the Local Battle and Regional Final and went on to perform at the Push Start Festival alongside nationally renowned acts such as Children Collide, Deez Nuts, Illy and Dream on Dreamer.

“Cass Ward has proven that our local artists have what it takes to mix it with the best in the state,” said Rory.

Entry to the Bendigo Battle of the Bands is by gold coin donation. All FReeZA events are drug, alcohol, and smoke free, with no passouts and are fully supervised.

Supported by the City of Greater Bendigo’s Youth Development Team, MIC UP Productions mission is to provide opportunities for young artists to play on stage to a crowd of peers, family and the broader community whilst gaining necessary and valuable experience.

Waterwise gardening for next season

Water wise Demonstration Garden still worth a look.

Despite the incredible rain that we are currently experiencing in Central Victoria (the most in 30 years) we shouldn’t become complacent as here in generally-low-rainfall-Bendigo it is not that long ago that we were experiencing severe water restrictions.

As such the Water wise Demonstration Garden, which was established in 1993 by the City of Greater Bendigo, with the help of Coliban Water and the Australian Open Garden Scheme is still a valuable resource for people planning gardens.

Now in the height of summer (admittedly a very mild one compared to the last few years) this garden is a colourful relaxing area that shows just what can be achieved with clever plant selection that takes into account the climatic conditions, soil type et al. The garden even includes some of my favourite plants – roses.

“The garden is not watered at all. During the drought we watered occasionally to maintain some plants but that’s all,” explained Anthony Sheean, Senior Environment Officer, City of Greater Bendigo. “Most of the plants growing in the garden are original plantings. We have done some supplementary planting over the years but the trees and large shrubs are all from the first planting. The water tank [which is attached to the roof of the small picnic shelter in the middle of the garden] is approximately 1000L capacity. It demonstrates the value of installing a rain water tank for a supplementary source of water for the garden.

“The roses are older varieties which tend to be very Water wise.
“The garden is 800 square metres in area, the average size of a residential allotment at the time the garden was constructed. It is maintained by the City of Greater Bendigo Parks and Natural Reserves Department”.
While there doesn’t seem to be any signage as to the names of the plants, advice for Water wise plants can be obtained from the publication ‘Smart Gardens for a Dry Climate’ which is available at council offices.
The Water wise Garden can be found at Strathdale Park (South East of Bendigo), McIvor Highway.

Kookaburra Woodcraft

Kookaburra Woodcraft.

This local business first came to my attention last year when Bill and I organised a quote for a bookcase in our family room.
We were impressed with both the friendliness and professionalism of Chris and Viv, as well as the lovely bookcase we had built to our specifications after we accepted the quote.

I met up recently with Chris and Viv Bortolotto in their home for Our Patch, where every piece of furniture (see photographs) was made by Kookaburra Woodcraft.
The business is all about custom building furniture, kitchens, robes, doors, stairs, shop fronts and so on. One of the current projects Chris is building is a library for a house. (I was so jealous when he told me this!) ‘That’s where the heart and passion is in…[the business] custom building, I guess, one off pieces,’ said Chris.
Prior to starting up the business, Chris worked for other people building kitchens. He is a qualified joiner, shopfitter and stair-builder and his first job was building wooden model aeroplanes, trains and making parts for Spitfire and Tiger Moth vintage warplanes. ‘This is what got me passionate about…customising and building not the norm,’ said Chris.
‘He’s always said that he’d like to plan the job, do the job…and deliver it to the clients and get that satisfaction of them being happy, I think [it is this that] drives us to do what we are doing really,’ added Viv.
Viv, a qualified hairdresser, currently divides her time between looking after their two children, the administrative paperwork of the business and studying interior design.
One of the challenges of running their own business is the hours the couple needs to put in. In the week I interviewed them, Chris was starting his work day at four o’clock in the morning.
The couple would definitely recommend to anyone considering working for themselves to do it, remembering that, ‘‘It is a lot of hard work, you’ve got to stay focussed and you’ve got to keep organised,’ said Viv. ‘The clients are the most important thing, that’s what makes your business.’
‘You’ve really got to believe in yourself,’ said Chris, ’Because if you have doubt, before you know it you will get nowhere, you’ve got to believe in yourself and work hard and always move forward.’
‘You’ve also got to be cautious, in some ways, not to over-commit yourself,’ added Viv.

Kookaburra Woodcraft was established in 2005 and offers a range that can be anything from modern contemporary to heritage styles.
Chris and Viv can be contacted on (03) 5439 4320, or mobile 0407 521 209.
E: kookaburrawoodcraft@bigpond.com