Rainbow Beach voted Australia's Best Winter Beach

Rainbow Beach is one of the best beaches on the globe.

The 23km long sweep of beach that offers spectacular stretches of coloured sand cliffs has just been voted Australia's best winter beach by Traveller.

Rainbow got the number one spot in front of Cable Beach in Western Australia as the best beach to get out and explore during the colder months.

Traveller said Rainbow Beach was the perfect place "to canter along a beach amid a shimmer of spray".

The travel website said winter was the perfect time to take a horse ride along Rainbow Beach.

"The balmy Queensland winters mean you don't even have to rug up and if you are better on four wheels than four legs, the beach is also open to four wheel drives as well."

The win comes on top of Rainbow being named as one of the nine most beautiful beaches in the world by Huffington Post earlier this year. "Vibrant rainbow-coloured sand dunes hug the beaches of this gorgeous coastal town," was the online blog's description.

Lonely Planet has also recognised the beauty of the coloured sands.

The global travel guide listed Rainbow as one of the top 10 most unusual beaches in the world, saying "Not content with merely taking on an unusual colour like red or green, Rainbow Beach takes on a myriad".

Kenilworth Cheese, Wine, & Food Fest

The Food Fest is held annually on Easter Saturday.  The whole family can enjoy the Farm to Fork Feast, celebrating local produce from the Mary Valley. Food tastings and cooking demonstrations. Don’t miss out on the popular Cheese Rolling Competition and Cheester Egg Hunt.  

7:00am Breakfast in the Park at one of the many food stalls… [See Stalls page for more details]. 

8:30am The Great Cheese Rolling Contest [ALL DAY] You can enter as many times as you like. 
Open to all ages. $2.00 Entry. Registration 8.00am

10:00am Cheester Egg Hunt for children aged four to seven years.
Hunt for the Special Golden Cheester Egg! $2.00 Entry. Registration from 8.00am at enclosed children’s play area.

10:30am + 1:30pm Gourmet Cooking Demostrations with Chef Peter Wolfe of Cedar Creek Bushfood Farm.  Fusing Native Bushfood Flavours with Asian and European Cuisines.
 

ALL DAY LOCAL WINE & CHEESE TASTINGS • Bushfood Plants and local produce to buy... • Fresh crusty breads from Crystal Waters  • 'Strike A Pose' Photo Booth   

• Raffle prizes to be won! Major prize: Portable TV satellite dish donated by Coruno Enterprizes, Imbil. • Live Music by Rubatuba   • Kids Pony Rides

Mary St. Christmas

Mary Street is having a Christmas Celebration and is inviting all residents and Businesses to come along and join in the party. 

On Monday Evening the 15th and Monday 22nd December 5:00pm - 9:00pm.Over 40 Mary Street shops will be open for late night shopping. There will be street Entertainment Nativity scene at Gold City centre stage, Wine and Cheese tasting, roving Christmas carollers and horse and sleigh (cart) rides with Santa and Mrs Claus. 

Local cafes will be open as well, so come along and make a night of it and support local business.

Kenilworth Celebrates

Kenilworth Celebrates! is an annual Town Festival, incorporating a Visual Arts Extravaganza and set in the Mary Valley 1920s Town of Kenilworth. 

The Streets become alive with Street theatre, Buskers, Drummers and Musicians, Poets breakfast, Art Exhibitions and workshops, Sunshine Coast Symphony Orchestra performance and dinner and more. 

Something for everyone, the Festival is set in a beautiful clean green part of Queensland, with amazing light, and in close proximity to rainforests , national parks,the Mary River and the Andy Goldsworthy sculpture in the Conondale Great Walk. There is plenty of camping available. 

Visit the Cheese Factory, Galleries and Art shops, all set in a very small rural town. Come to the magical Sunshine Coast Hinterland to enjoy the beautiful scenery and a great Festival.

Mary Valley Country Show 2014

A full program of rodeo timed events start the day, attracting a large number of competitors. 

Ring events include showjumping, led classes, hack classes and junior riding classes. Novelty events after the ring events finish are always very popular and attract many competitors.

Young beef handlers now have the opportunity to compete with their prime led cattle in the newly introduced Prime Beef Section. There are also open sections for Prime Beef Classes. 

The annual Woodchop Event is a major draw on showday. This attracts competitors from far and near. It is quite a coup to win at the Mary Valley Wood Chop Event.

The Show Pavillion is packed to the rafters with produce displays, school childrens art and writing skills are beautifully presented. Craft, cooking, horticulture and hobby competitions ensure that there is plenty for all to see.

Outside, Side Show Ally is brimming with rides and fun for all ages. Market stalls, vintage cars and machinery, static displays, cottage craft, jewellery and ornaments and other displays that include live animals such as reptiles, farm animals, animal nursery to name a few fill the grounds to capacity. 

There is always a fantastic choice of food and beverages and a licensed bar till late.

Twin’s Exhibition

Photographs of 50 sets of twins from Gladstone to Brisbane will be on display this month at Gympie Regional Gallery.

The project, was instigated by Gympie photographer Bambi Wixon to raise funds for the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the RBWH Milk Bank for premature babies, in particular multiple births.

Bambi found out that most Queensland twins are born in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and many are born preterm.

The Australian Breastfeeding Association state on their website that one woman can produce enough milk for two babies, even though people sometimes doubt that it is possible.

The Milk Bank website explains that in cases of premature birth, women sometimes have trouble producing enough of their own milk or, any milk at all, which may be compounded in artificial and stressful situations.

The availability of donor breast milk through the RBWH Milk Bank provides parents with an alternative to formula and the choice to give their baby optimal nutrition. 

Fellow photographers and friends, Susan Wall (also a twin) and Willow Smith resolved to raise the funds to purchase another freezer, and the ‘Twins – More to Love’ exhibition is the result.

The Gympie Regional Gallery exhibition on view until 22 February, with normal opening hours Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

Donations can be made on https://www.facebook.com/TwinsProject2013 . 

2013 Christmas Lights Competition

Entries open: November 1, 2013 to residents & business owners of Rainbow Beach, Cooloola Cove, Tin Can Bay & Wallu.

Entries close: 5pm December 6, 2013

Judging and Lights on: 9-13 December between 7.30 pm & 9.30 pm (businesses – business hours)

Awards Presentation: Saturday December 14, Rainbow Beach Christmas Carols, Rainbow Beach Community Hall, 2013. Winners’ names will be published in the January Rainbow Beach Cooloola Coast Community News.

Entry is FREE and there is $1500 in cash or prizes to be won, across 11 awards. Creativity, and visual and artistic merit will determine winners of the following categories:

• Cooloola Mitre 10 Best Residential (1st – $250, 2nd – $150, 3rd -$100)
• Cooloola Cove Shopping Centre People’s Choice (1st – $250, 2nd – $150, 3rd -$100)
• Smiley Mick Electrical Best Business (lights or window displays or both) $100
• Rainbow Beach Meats Best Street $100 voucher
• Rainbow Beach Realty Best Nativity Scene $100
• Rainbow Beach IGA Best Recycled Material Display $100
• 4 Rent 4 Sale Best Tree $100