Cr Danita Potter - Community and The Arts Portfolio Report - 12 October 2016

South Burnett Libraries

School Holiday Activities - Lego Robot

South Burnett Libraries became THE place to be during the September school holidays, as a series of Lego Robot sessions were held across the region.  Designed to educate and engage our young community members, the sessions resulted in the children being able to use simple block coding to program the movement and sound of the robot.  In total, 67 children attended these sessions, with positive feedback received.

Other School Holiday Activities

During the second week of the school holidays, libraries across the service delivered a variety of additional activities, including a special Disney edition of Friendly Feud at the Kingaroy and Blackbutt libraries. This event was a hit with the kids, who were invited to dress up as their favourite Disney character.  Amongst the characters to arrive on the day were Mrs Potts from “Beauty and the beast”, Olaf and Elsa from “Frozen” and “Pinocchio”.  Staff also dressed up getting into the school holiday spirit for the morning, with Buzz Lightyear, the Red Queen, Mary Poppins and Mike from “Monsters Inc” making an appearance.

Blackbutt also hosted a “Frozen” themed craft and activity, whilst the Nanango Library delivered a “Finding Dory” themed event.  At Murgon Library, children enjoyed decorating face masks, making eyes that glow in the dark after listening to a story called “Grandpa’s mask”. In Wondai, children enjoyed creating a giant rainbow collage and wind catcher, whilst kids at the Proston Library enjoyed playing a life sized game of Monopoly.

Fun Palace

On Saturday the 1st of October, the Kingaroy Library was transformed into a Fun Palace where art, science and fun prevailed.  Open to all ages, activity stations were designed by staff to capture the imagination of participants, and included plaster creations, a digital microscope, special effects make-up, the Lego robot and a maKey maKey.  The maKey maKey proved very popular on the day, as it turned everyday objects into touchpads, resulting in banana keyboards and the ability to control the beat and lyrics of  Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” with playdough!  This device was amongst a variety of books, art supplies and gadgets sent by the State Library of Queensland in a Mystery Box, valued at $1000 and granted to the library as a result of a successful expression of interest.   652 people visited the Kingaroy Library during the 2 hour Fun Palace session.

Author and Information Talks

On Thursday the 22nd of September, local identity Barry Krosch delivered an informative presentation at the Kingaroy Library about the history, function and impact of the Queensland Police Special Branch. Barry spoke about his role in the branch, and retold many fascinating stories. 

On Friday the 30th of September the Wondai Library hosted an author talk with local young adult writer Dannielle Wicks.  Speaking of her experiences and the process of writing her “Hardest mistakes” series, Dannielle entertained attendees, who sat enthralled through the presentation.

Community Assistance Grants

As mentioned in my September portfolio report, Council received an overwhelming response to Round One (1) of the community assistance grants with 23 applications submitted totalling $49,320.19. 

With a Round One (1) budget allocation of $17,100 the assessment committee met to undertake the difficult task of evaluating the applications.  My fellow Councillors and I were able to approve the following fourteen (14) funding applications:

• Blackbutt State School funded for their “Bursting Angry Blackbutt Bubbles” project to the value of $500 to purchase the ‘Anger Management Resource”
• Queensland Dairy & Heritage Museum funded for $400 towards their  Heritage Working Day for the jumping castle, face painting and plate spinning
• Kingaroy Men’s Shed funded for $1,500 worth of tools
• Kumbia Hall Committee funded $600 for the Kumbia Grant Writing Skills Workshop
• Murgon Bowls Club funded $2,000 towards the installation of a disabled unisex toilet
• Murgon Men’s Shed funded $1,500 towards the purchase of rail carriages for relocation to the site.
• Nanango Men’s Shed funded for $1,000 worth of tools
• South Burnett Peace of Mind funded $650 to support the “White Dove Ball”
• Nanango Stamp Club funded $500 towards the 23rd Annual Stamp Fair
• Kingaroy Kindergarten funded $800 for “Community Awareness for Our Community Kindergarten” project
• Wondai Regional Art Gallery funded $2,800 for the “Wondai Country Fun Run Festival”
• Nanango Wesleyan Methodist Church funded $3,000 to deliver the “Nanango Community Christmas Carols Party Celebration & Hangi”
• Butt Arts Gallery funded $795 for the purchase of a laptop and computer program
• Wondai Cricket Club funded $1,035 for the purchase of a mower and associated safety equipment.

Council has supported a range of worthwhile local events and projects that will benefit South Burnett residents to the grand total of $17,080.

Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF)

Round One (1) of the fund closed on the 16th of September, with Council receiving four (4) applications.  With a budget of $7,743 for this round, the RADF Management Advisory Committee met on the 27th of September to assess the applications making recommendations for Council’s consideration at this meeting.