Callan Park Festival New Date
Well, the best laid plans of mice and men go out the window when dealing with development applications. The Callan Park Team though they had dealt with it in November…alas…it hasn’t turned out that way.
I think the secret it is to get everything in writing, but that’s only if you can get the right Council Officer and get them to put pen to paper. Hard to do when they don’t even answer emails.
But in the end I think it’s all turned out for the best. The Board had their meeting today and the NEW date for the Callan Park Mental Health Festival has been confirmed as Saturday, 25th September 2010. So it’s spring, rather than autumn. The best result is that it will be the start of the school holidays and only a week before mental health month (October), a good omen for a festival that is honouring those with mental health issues.
It also gives the Callan Park Team extra time to organise heaps more entertainment, like the ‘Circus Showcase’ with plenty of fascinating and colourful acts to entertain the kids (and adults too). High flyers and acrobats, clowns and jugglers, fire eating and stilt walkers, cotton candy, balloons galore and so much more!
The Callan Park Team have even organised roving (digital) photographers to capture that once in a lifetime look on a child’s face when they experience their very first circus and get to see the performers so close… they can touch them! You’ll be able to have these priceless images sent directly to your email to share the excitement with family and friends.
I’ll be posting more news as it happens. Don’t be left out of the fun… write the date (Saturday, 25th September 2010) in your calendar and put a big red circle around it, then share the news with all of your friends and family. You’ll be supporting a very worthwhile cause…Good Mental Health.
I hope to see you there!
Katherine
2 Responses to “Callan Park Festival New Date”
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Hi Kat thanks for connecting on Twitter; – I chair a district Consumer Advisory Group in Qld and we are hoping to engage community and local members to see how we can get some funding this year. 2009 we held a Family Fun Day on World Mental Health Day – we engaged and included the “whole” family and showcased complementary health systems as much as mainstream systems, face painting, balloons, entertainment. We had no funding but we did it anyway; it is amazing the passion for the cause. By the way; I think you are correct … the secret is in writing
. Yay! for Australian of the Year … Patrick McGorry; what a headspace! Cheers! Sharon
Thank you for your comments Sharon. It’s good to see a Twitter Supporter @CallanPark.
Being the ‘Chair’ of such a distinguished community service like the district Consumer Advisory Group and holding a Family Fun Day on World Mental Health Day is a huge undertaking…well done!
And yes, passion for the cause is an amazing thing, such a feel good factor. If more people volunteered to assist their local NGOs in delivering much needed social services, they may find it an exhilarating experience and one that will enrich their lives and the lives of those around them. In effect, they become part of the legacy to their community.
Nondenominational NGOs (new ones like the Utopia Research Institute) are almost always on the back foot when it comes to assistance from local government. It’s not a criticism – it’s a fact. We don’t have the kind of ‘clout’ that the better established NGOs do. Local councils are generally made up of ‘Officers’ that are entrenched in a position for life and ‘Counselors’ that most likely are climbing their way up the Party ladder.
I know it’s not the done thing to talk about the (local government) situation, but if you ask a selection of say, 100 locals, 95% would agree with the above statement, then shrug their shoulders and say, “that’s they way it’s always been, you can’t fight city hall.”
I have a different theory. “It is our social and moral duty to express discontent with those that have a responsibility to our community”.
And on that note, I commend our 2010 Australian of the Year, Patrick McGorry for his dedication to those individuals that this great nation will rely on in the near future – our youth.
Thank you Sharon for your comments and for supporting the Callan Park Festival.
Katherine (Kat) McCormick
CEO, Utopia Research Institute Limited
@CallanPark (Twitter)