For many grey nomads travelling in remote Australia, attending a local event – whether it be an agricultural show, a music festival, a community market, or something else – is one of the best ways to truly get to know a place.
They offer a chance to interact with residents, to support a town that has perhaps been having a tough time, or simply to share happy experiences with others.
While Covid has played havoc with the calendar over the past few years, many rural events are now returning … and travellers’ support of them is perhaps more important than ever.
Sometimes, of course, the journey can be part of the destination … and that’s at least part of the thinking behind an initiative from the Queensland Music Trails organisation as it seeks to use music and arts to tempt grey nomads and others to small communities in the Sunshine State.
So much to discover in the bush ... Andrew Nixon Bridge in St George on the Balonne River PIC: Balonne Shire
There will be a series of happenings across the state in the coming months but the first part of this year’s Queensland Music Trails is The Outback Trail, which will see events in St George, Cunnamulla, Charleville, and Tambo from April 12-21.
Across the four venues there will be music from artists including The Barleyshakes Duo, Hussy Hicks and Jem Cassar-Daley; as well as dance performances, workshops, lantern parades, and handcrafted markets showcasing local and regional artists, and much more.
“One of our aims with the Outback Trail is to build a community of travellers on the trail who share a common love of music,” Joel Edmondson, Queensland Music Festival’s CEO & Creative Director, told the Grey Nomads. “The trail events are also a great way for travellers to connect with local community and get a sense of the history and culture of the townships in which the events take place.”
And they are bringing huge benefit to the communities in which they are hosted.
“Queensland Music Trails is such an important initiative that benefits our local community and adds vibrancy to our region,” said Balonne Shire Council Mayor, Samantha O’Toole.
The hope is very much that, as grey nomads meander between the various Outback Trail events, they will take the opportunity to explore what else the areas have to offer … whether that be the statue of famous female drover, Edna Jessop; Eulo’s artisan mud baths; the newly refurbished WWII Secret Base Museum at Charleville; or something else in one of the endless magical spots in the Outback.
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Click here to find out more about the prize, and how to enter.
Members: If you wish to enter, please click here.
