Pop sensation Jade MacRae set to star at new at Beechworth Romance Festival

What: Beechworth Romance Festival
Where: La Trobe Campus, Beechworth
When: St. Valentines Day, Saturday 14 Feb 2009
Tickets: www.beechworthonline.com.au

Anyone planning an unforgettable St. Valentines Day need look no further than the beautiful town of Beechworth in Victoria’s North East where a brand new Romance Festival will take place in 2009.

This unique day-long celebration of love and romance will take place on Saturday 14 February in and around the picturesque gardens and historic buildings of La Trobe at Beechworth.

Featuring a packed all-day program of fine local food and wine, music, film and a host of opportunities for lovers to enjoy and celebrate this special day, the Festival will offer a truly memorable experience for romantics of all ages.

A highlight of the Romance Festival will be a performance by the sensational singer, recording star and TV celebrity, Jade MacRae who will headline at the Romantic Zeale Concert from 3 to 9pm. One of the most popular and talented performers on the Australian stage, she has two fabulous ARIA-nominated albums to her credit along with hit singles including this year’s sizzling, In the Basement and I Wanna be in Love.

Also on the bill is singer and Australian Idol pin-up, Ricky Muscat, and a superb line-up of local talent. The concert emcee will be TV personality, John Walker.

The Beechworth Romance Festival will also include:
• Romance Acting Workshops at the Beechworth Town Hall with actor and former Albury-boy, Malcolm Kennard, (Packed to the Rafters, The Matrix, E-Street)
• Renewal of Vows with local marriage celebrant, Simon Goss the La Trobe chapel
• An all-day Romance Expo for couples planning a special wedding day
• The Passion Lunch and Passion Dinner in the gorgeous La Trobe gardens with delicious three-course menus featuring superb local produce accompanied by fine wines of the area
• A screening of the blockbuster romance, Australia, on the big outdoor screen accompanied by picnic hampers packed with gourmet treats, local wine and beer


Accommodation Available at La Trobe. Phone 03 5720 8050
Full program details and bookings:
Phone 1300 366 321 or go to www.beechworthonline.com.au

New tour uncovers old Beechworth

Visitors to Beechworth this January have the chance to discover a new side of the historic town with the launch of the Town Walking Tour.

The tour will complement the hugely popular Ned Kelly and Gold walking tours which have become a must for tourists to the area since their launch three years ago.

The new tour will explore the town’s rich Gold Era history, uncovering fascinating and often little-known stories about the characters and events that shaped Beechworth’s early development.

Expert guides from the Visitor Information Centre will lead the tour on a leisurely hour-long stroll through the wide, tree-lined avenues and beautifully preserved streetscapes of Beechworth.

Along the way, visitors will stop at more than two dozen sites, including the Robert O’Hara Burke Memorial Museum, one of Australia’s best regional museums named after the ill-fated explorer and one-time Police Superintendent of Beechworth.

Other notable sites include:

· The old Temple Bar Hotel in Ford Street, one of more than 60 licensed premises operating in the area in the 1870s. They will learn about the publican who advertised in the Constitution & Ovens Mining Intelligencer for a “kangaroo and an emu for this hotel – wanted dead or alive.”

· The Old Anglican Schoolhouse whose alumni include noted geologist Edward John Dunn and the first Australian-born Governor General Sir Isaac Isaacs

· St. Joseph’s Presbytery in Church Street where Kelly Gang associate turned police informer, Aaron Sherritt married Ellen Barry in 1879.



The new Town Walking Tour will leave from the Beechworth VIC every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 1pm from 5 January until 1 February.

Bookings and enquiries at Beechworth Visitor Information Centre,
phone 1300 366 321 or visit www.beechworthonline.com.au

Indigo towns join forces for big weekend event

The many delights of Indigo Shire were promoted across the weekend at the 2AY RACV House & Garden Show at the Albury Wodonga Gateway.
Indigo towns join forces for big weekend event

The event, which saw big crowds turn out for a program of events which included TV star, Don Burke, offered a sensational promotional opportunity for towns across the Shire.

The Indigo Tourism Advisory Committee Chairman, Damian Adams, said he was delighted to see representatives from each town combine to present an excellent showcase of the area's attractions. The displays included visitor guides, maps, photos, displays of historical artefacts, fine wines and a special cycle tourism promotion.

Hundreds of people lodged entries in the raffle of a host of prizes generously donated by operators from across the region including accommodation, adventure activities, wines and a range of guided tours.

Historic Burke treasure stars in new circus exhibition

Friday 17 October 2008

A treasure of Beechworth’s Burke Museum collection, an original woodblock, Ashton’s Circus circa 1857, is featuring in a new touring exhibition - Step Right Up - celebrating the circus in Australian art.


The object, by an unknown artist, is the oldest work on display as part of the exhibition at the Albury Art Gallery until 23 November ahead of a national tour including The Arts Centre in Melbourne, Museum of Brisbane and Art Gallery of Northern Territory.


A print taken from the historic woodblock by artist Vincent Drane will also feature in Step Right Up. The print, made at the National Trust-owned Federal Standard Printing Works in Chiltern, was commissioned by the Burke Museum in 2000 to promote a touring exhibition of its own amazing visual art collection, Following the Fortune Hunters: The Art and Culture of the Ovens Goldfield.


A joint project of the Albury Art Gallery and the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Step Right Up - the Circus in Australian Art also features pieces from the Albury City collection, works commissioned by artists specifically for this event and historical and contemporary artworks drawn from State, Regional, commercial and private collections. Works from major artists such as John Brack, Fred Williams, Ken Whisson, Jeffrey Smart and John Olsen are included in the exhibition.


The historic woodblock is one of thousands of objects, artworks and curiosities held in the treasure trove that is Beechworth’s Burke Museum. A nationally significant collection of Aboriginal artefacts from the early to mid-19th century, an amazing natural history collection, one of the four original Ned Kelly death masks and thousands of documents, journals and photographs from Beechworth’s heady gold rush days to the present are among the permanent collections on display at this fine regional museum, a jewel of Beechworth’s Historic and Cultural Precinct.


As part of its own exhibitions program, the Burke Museum is currently featuring Women Vote: They Picked up the Patter with Amazing Fluency commemorating the contribution of Beechworth women to the Monster Petition presented to the Victorian Parliament in 1891 calling for the right to vote. See full details at: www.beechworth.com/burkemus/exhibits

Visit Beechworth This Weekend & Sample Bridge Road Brewers’ “Nutty” Lager

Bridge Road Brewers is proud to announce the release of its latest brew, the Chestnut Lager. Brewed with local chestnuts and hops and aged for over 4 months this Beechworth lager is unique in Australia.

The brewery had been approached by local chestnut growers looking to value add to their produce. Beechworth and its close neighbor Stanley are Australia’s chestnut growing capital. The region is also home to some of Victoria’s last remaining hop gardens, with the Rostrevor Hop Garden in the Ovens Valley near Myrtleford growing the Galaxy hops that have been used in the Lager.

Brewer Ben Kraus said the lager was challenging to brew, however the initial test batch has proved a huge success. Demand for the beer has been strong and the brewery is currently brewing two more batches for release prior to Christmas.

The current release is available to take away directly from the brewery, and from a limited number of city stockists. The beer will also feature as part of the Beechworth Oktoberfest on the 11th and 12th of October. But be warned it wont last long.

Best Western Beechworth Motel wins for most upgrades and improvements

The Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn (Beechworth, Victoria) has been announced as the winner of the Best Western Award for Excellence in the category of Most Improvements and Upgrades within a Best Western Property.

The award, announced at the Best Western Annual Convention in Auckland, New Zealand, recognises the Best Western property that has made the most improvements throughout the year.

The Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn spent $140,000 on renovating all 10 suites. Bathrooms were replaced, wall lighting was removed and replaced with elegant lamps and indirect lighting, and all soft furnishings and carpets were replaced with new items in muted autumnal colours. On the strength of these, the Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn was judged to have made the most outstanding improvements.

“This award justifies the time and effort that has been put into this project,” says Robert Ransom of the Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn. “The result has been overwhelming. Using local tradesmen to contribute to the refurbishment has injected more confidence in us to expand the motel to the next level.”

The Best Western Beechworth Motor Inn is a three-and-a-half star property featuring single, queen and large family rooms on one-and-a-half acres of leafy landscaped gardens.

Located only one kilometre from the centre of Beechworth, the property is an ideal base for corporate guests. All suites feature undercover parking and easy access to a large swimming pool, sun deck and private BBQ area.
Source: Best Western

Well Done Rob & Janelle - Keep up the great work - from the Beechworth Visitor Information Centre Team.

Abseiling Adventures In Beechworth this Saturday 11th October 2008

MORNING ABSEILING IN THE BEECHWORTH GORGE
3 Hours 10 AM to 1 PM

We will be offering morning abseiling adventures in the Beechworth Gorge EACH DAY from

Saturday 11th October (Note that if you don’t book early we may be booked out) Price

$88.00pp ($80.00pp for families or groups of three or more)


Suitable for most ages and levels of fitness
All safety gear supplied
ABSEIL from a 25-metre cliff on the Gorge road at Beechworth. (We also have a 10 metre introductory cliff for the nervous) The cliffs are only a short distance from the Town and have excellent views of the woolshed valley and the Granite ranges of Mt Pilot


The Site
Located on the gorge road the cliffs are just past the Bailey bridge over spring creek. Beechworth built the gorge road with prize moneys won during the 1930’s best tourist town awards.

The Adventure
We drive in convoy from Beechworth to the abseil site then after rigging up and having a safety brief we walk to the top of the cliffs to start the first abseil. You can then abseil as many times as you like in the time block.

Level Of Difficulty
Easy

Where to meet
Meet at the BEECHWORTH Visitors Information Centre Ford St Beechworth at 10 AM

You Need
Your own vehicle (The sites are about 15 Km from Beechworth) some water and comfortable rubber soled shoes or boots.


Bring any personal Medication (Asthma Etc)
Cost
$88 per participant (Regardless of age)
$77 for Pensioners or seniors card holders
$80 pp for families or groups of 3 or more
You can pay the guide cash on the day