Kick Off Your 2010 Conference With A Night Of Outback Culture At Charleville's Cosmos! 30th August 2010: The QRWN's 2010 State Conference will get off to an early jump start on Thursday night, September 2nd with an informal gathering at the famous Cosmos Centre (pictured at right) - Charleville's very own observatory which is located about 3km from the centre of town. There'll be plenty to catch up on this year with old and new friends alike - and the night we've planned for delegates will be a really great place to start! You can enjoy a terrific BBQ under the brilliant western skies and then take in a short presentation from the Cosmos guides (who'll be using the centre's high-powered telescopes for close-up views of Saturn's rings and other incredible features of our solar system). Then you can be entertained by the amazing Ernie Adams, a local didgeridoo genius, who'll share his immense cultural knowledge in a fun and interactive fashion (Ernie also likes to tell a few yarns……so look out!) The inspiring Keelan Mailman will also be on hand to share her experiences and insights about being a female indigenous leader in a male-dominated rural industry. Keelan is mum who juggles teaching distance education with the day-to-day challenges of running a large cattle station, and we're sure her talk will be of great interest to many members who find themselves in similar situations. So get there early on Thursday to ensure that you don’t miss any of the fun, food and entertainment on offer. Charleville is going to be a really great Conference and our night at Cosmos will kick it off in style!

The Glitz & Glam Dinner: No Need To Stress The Glam, Girls (Bling Is The Thing - No Kidding) 23rd August 2010: Some new members who've never been to a State Conference before have been asking us if they need to dress up to the nines to attend the big Glitz & Glam Dinner that will be held at the end of the Conference on Saturday night, 4th September. Well, the short answer is: NO! One of the things nearly all our members like about the QRWN's State Conferences is the relaxed informality and fun that have become our hallmark over the years. And that applies to our dinners too. In fact - for Giltz and Glam - going "over the top" and being as outrageous as you feel like is much more the order of the day than $1,000 designer gowns (in fact, one of our committee members tells us she'll be hitting all the Op Shops before the conference to acquire as much bling as she possibly can - so that might give you an idea of the proper spirit to bring to it). And naturally, the dinner is entirely optional. But if you come we can guarantee a really fun evening! STOP PRESS! Karen Seiler has just discovered that the bus the Barambah group are chartering to take members to Charleville has three more seats in it than she initially thought (see story 9th July, below). So if you'd prefer to bus it rather than drive, contact her ASAP on (0488) 559-699.

Start Picking Your Workshops Now: We've Got A Really Super Duper Line-Up Running In 2010! 16th August 2010: Workshops are a very popular feature of every QRWN State Conference. Why? Because they're a great way to learn genuinely interesting and useful information from a wide range of experts in record time. And this year's Conference in Charleville will be no exception! We have a jam-packed two day workshop schedule planned, including two really fun workshops being run by our special guest artist Lola The Vamp (pictured at right), Australia's most famous burlesque performer: one on hair and make-ups tips and another on dressing up in costumes (both are subjects that Lola knows a lot about!) Other really great workshops you can look forward to include: Annabel Tully - Drawing out your soul ... connect with your artist within Danielle Lawrence - Yoga Daryl Adcock - Get healthy, stay healthy ... how to avoid Type 2 Diabetes and other chronic diseases Daryl Adcock - Lighten Up! Busting the myths of fad diets ... keys to good weight management Denise Quinn - How to find your niche and create multiple streams of income working from home. Frances Calleja - The power of influencing yourself Irena Yashin-Shaw - Confident speaking, your vehicle for empowerment Jess Hodgson - Hyp-No-Stress John Tilden - How your cycle affects your business John Tilden - Managing your cycle Juliet Cook - Developing your resilience in changing times Juliet Cook - Induction Programs, bringing new people on board Lara Wilde - Welcoming Families to Your Community Lola the Vamp - Burlesque Costume Dress-ups Lola the Vamp - Burlesque Hair and make-up workshop Penny Kennedy - The Art of Meditation Penny Kennedy - The wheel of life Sandy Blackburn-Wright - Living Your Values Sylvia Admans - Philanthropy and your community Tami Harriott and Jo Bischa - Women Managing Money ... cash flow, budgets and more. All the 2010 Conference Workshops are absolutely free and will be run in between major breaks and group sessions. Just pick whichever ones interest you and come along! PS: Compete details about each workshop will be in the Conference booklet that's handed out to everyone who comes to Charleville.

Final Call: 2010 Cultural Competition Entries Close This Friday 11th August 2010: Amazing but true: our 2010 State Conference is now only 23 days away. And the excitement is really starting to build. So if you want to be part of this year's Cultural Competitions, you now only have two days left to put in your entry forms. The Cultural Competitions are a much-loved feature of every QRWN State Conference and they're open to all delegates. They have five separate sections (Wearable Art, Photography, Short Stories, Art, and Crafts) and they provide an opportunity to showcase the talent of rural women from all around the state. All entries will be on display at the Conference and the winners will be announced there too. Wearable Art has become a signature QRWN event and has attracted both national and international attention in the past. This year, entries are outfits that fit into either the wearable farm art or wearable recycled art sections. Part of the fun of this section is that the outfits are actually worn by models in a grand parade at the Conference! The winners of each of the other sections are announced throughout the conference and there are fabulous prizes to be won - such as a $500 voucher to "Take Better Photos Workshops" for the photography section. And the best works in each category will be featured on our main website after the Conference is over too. However, 2010 entries definitely close this coming Friday 13th August 2010. So if you haven't submitted your entries yet, grab the paperwork from our Confernce Forms page, print them off, fill them in and fax them back to us on 1300 795-516. Photo: This spectacular quilt was one the many first-rate items on show at the 2009 Cultural Competition at last year's conference in Toowoomba. The talent of our members never ceases to astonish us!

OK... We've Heard You! Early Bird Discount Extended To Monday August 16th 6th August 2010: Want to come to the 2010 Conference but sad that you've missed out on our Early Bird Discount because you were just too ?*&^%$ busy to get the paperwork to us? Well, despite bucketloads of Early Bird registrations (and a big "Thank You!" to everyone who's already booked) it seems that more than a few QRWN members were in that boat. But we've heard your anguish. So we're making a one-time extension of the Early Bird rate until 12:00 midnight on Monday 16th August. However, this deadline is absolutely final and after that the normal rate will apply. No ifs, buts or exceptions (no matter how busy you are). You can get the paperwork on the Conference Forms page of our website. Just complete the 2010 Conference Registration form - available as either a PDF or MS Word document - and get it back to us pronto. PS: We'd also like to remind everyone that entries in the 2010 Cultural Competitions also close at midnight next Friday 13th August. Once again, you can get the necessary paperwork on the Conference Forms page of our website. Same rules apply: complete the forms and get the paperwork back to us by the deadline or miss out.

Get A Free Health Check-Up When You Come To The 2010 Conference! 4th August 2010: QRWN members who come along to the 2010 State Conference in Charleville next month will be able to take advantage of a special bonus if they like: a free check-up by Queensland Mobile Women's Health nurses. The Mobile Women's Health Service is made up of specially trained registered nurses based throughout Queensland who provide a free and confidential service for Queensland women. The service aims to improve the health and well-being of women in rural and remote areas of Queensland, and it was a popular feature at last year's Conference in Toowoomba. So if you've got concerns about heath matters - even want a pap smear! - it's a great way to get professional, high quality health advice in complete privacy. Appointments can be made on site at the Conference. And we'd like to thank Queensland Health and the Mobile Women's Health Service for making this great facility available!

Have You Registered Yet? Remember: Our Early Bird Discount Expires This Saturday 31st July 2010 28th July 2010: Booked your seat at our 2010 State Conference in Charleville yet? Well - if you intend to come but still haven't submitted your registration form - we'd just like to remind you that our great Early Bird Discount expires this Saturday 31st July 2010 at 12:00 midnight. Members who register early help us plan the Conference better. And their reward for being prompt is a handy $20 saving (either on a two-day registration or on any single day). You can obtain a Registration Form on the Conference Forms page of our website. Just print it off, fill it in and fax it back to us on 1300 795-516. Alternately, you can also call our offices (if you do so before 5:00pm Friday) and we'll take your details over the phone: 1300 795-571. PS: Accommodation at Charleville is also filling up fast, so you'll need to book yours ASAP if you want to be sure of a bed. You can find out more about Charleville's accommodation options from Murweh Shire Council's website.

New! Two Categories Of Wearable Art In 2010 19th July 2010: Attention Wearable Art lovers! This year - by popular request - our annual Wearable Art competition is getting even bigger. For 2010 we're going to split Wearable Art into two separate categories: Wearable Farm Art, which is defined as an item made from anything found on a farm, (such as nuts and bolts, baler twine, poly pipe, fertilizer or seed bags, wire etc) and...   Wearable Recycled Art, which is defined as an item made from any used product that is recycled to create wearable art (such as old curtains or blinds; used computer discs or cardboard; wire; papier mache; used film; bath sponges; plastic bags etc) A new entry form has been prepared for this year's Wearable Art competition and it's now available on the Conference Forms page of our website. 2010 entrants need to indicate which category they're entering - so if you downloaded the first version, please download the new form, complete it and send it back to us. Good luck! Photo: Wearable Art has become a signature event for the QRWN and a much-loved part of our annual State Conference. Our talented members have drawn national (and even international) attention with it. Last year's displays were dazzling and we're expecting even better in 2010.

2010 Trade Display And Marketplace Forms Now Available On Our Website 12th July 2010: Got something you'd like to show off to Queensland rural women? Got something interesting you'd like to promote to the movers and shakers in our rural communities? Then it's time to start planning your Trade Display or Marketplace stand! Registration forms for Trade Displays at the 2010 State Conference and our popular Marketplace were released today, and they can now be downloaded from the Conference Forms page of our website. Trade Displays are a long-standing tradition at the QRWN's State Conferences and they're a great way to raise awareness amongst rural women about important products or services. Large corporations, small businesses and Government agencies find them a very simple and cost-effective way to spread the message to Queensland's rural communities from the "top down". How? By reaching the opinion leaders at the QRWN's conference, who then spread the word amongst their own communities. And the Marketplace - which was introduced at last year's conference in Toowoomba - is a fun, inexpensive way to present consumer products like jewellery, art, essential oils and knick-knacks that our members might like to buy in the breaks between workshops and/or Conference sessions. So if you want to mount a Trade Display or Marketplace stand at Charleville, download the forms; complete them; and get them back to us just as soon as you can. Spaces are limited and - as always - it's a case of first in, best dressed! Photo: Queensland Health was one of the many dozens of exhibitors at our 2009 State Conference. Our Trade Display and Marketplace areas are fun for members and exhibitors alike.

Why Drive? Catch A Bus To The Charleville Conference With The QRWN's Barambah Branch! 9th July 2010: Want to go to the 2010 Conference in Charleville but don't want to drive all the way there and back? Then why not catch a bus with other QRWN members? Karen Seiler, the Program Coordinator for the Family Support Drought Response Team in Kingaroy, is organising a bus to take members of the QRWN's Barambah Branch to and from this year's Conference. The bus will travel from the South Burnett out to Charleville on Thursday 2nd September and will return on Sunday 5th September. Tickets are just $120 - cheaper than petrol! - and members of other branches are very welcome to come along too. As of today there are only 6 seats left. But you can reserve one of them by phoning Karen on (0488) 559-699. Be quick!