Daylesford Calling!

Planning for ChillOut 2011 is underway – we’re back next March with great events, atmosphere and our trademark celebration of queer country pride – with an exotic flavour!

We so want to tell you the theme for next year’s festival — but we don’t want to spoil the surprise. Let’s just say it’s an exotic, colourful motif in which our mascot, Sheila the cow-lovin’-cow, will feel right at home.

More will be revealed later in the year, but in the meantime, why not head to our Facebook page and see if you can guess. While you're there, tell us what you love about ChillOut, what events you’d like to see next year, and — don’t hold back — tell us what we could do better.

 

ChillOut 2010 sets a fundraising record

Every year, a major objective of ChillOut is to raise money for our nominated ‘worthy cause’ — a charity or community group that is part of our local community and which supports the aims and objectives of ChillOut.

This year we are proud to say that in just four days we raised more than $32,000 for the CFA Glenlyon Group, which comprises the nine local bushfire brigades who helped save lives and property around Daylesford during the tragic fires of February 2009.

The amount raised this year — from our major fundraising event, the Slowest Lunch, from contributions from ChillOut event promoters and from your generous donations — sets a new record for us and a new standard for the way that ChillOut can help local community groups and support rural communities.

We’re currently looking for a worthy cause for 2011. If your community group supports the aims of ChillOut and is able to work with us as a fundraising partner, we’d love to hear from you. Email info@chilloutfestival.com.au to express your interest.

 

We hear you

Following this year’s festival, we conducted a survey of our supporters – thanks to all of you who participated.

We’re still working through the responses, but a few themes have emerged clearly and we want to respond to these.

Firstly, a number of people commented on the ticket prices for ChillOut events, especially the dance party and the carnival day.

Along with the bush dance, ticket sales from these two events represent ChillOut’s major source of funds, and they support the delivery of the whole ChillOut festival weekend.

ChillOut is managed by a small volunteer committee (who don’t get paid, despite what some survey respondents seemed to think) and a small number of temporary casual staff employed during the lead-up to, and the weekend of, the festival. But it still cost almost $200,000 to stage the 2010 festival, and the vast majority of this money came from ticket sales. We'd love to reduce ticket costs, or make the carnival day a free event, but we have to balance the books.

But we hear you.  Next year, we expect Carnival Day tickets to be about the same price as this year, but you’ll be able to save money by buying your ticket online ahead of the event. Tickets for the Dance Party and Bush Dance will also be about the same, but we'll ensure you get better value for money with an improved event. And you'll know your ticket price helps support ChillOut for everyone.

We also had a number of comments about parking and entry to the Carnival Day. Normally we have parking available on the oval at the entrance to Victoria Park,but because of the heavy rain this year, we were advised on Saturday night that we couldn't use the oval – just hours before the carnival. At short notice, we arranged access to the (smaller) parking area below the main carnival area and re-organised our logistics to suit. It wasn't an ideal situation but we think we did OK in the circumstances and it was a learning experience for us. We hear you. Thanks to everyone for your patience.

Another issue that was raised by a number of people was the free shuttle bus. We've only been running the shuttle bus for a couple of years, but this year with the bad weather, demand was higher than usual and some people commented that the buses could have been more frequent and the bus stops better signed. We hear you: next year, we'll work to improve the shuttle bus service in response to this feedback.

There were lots of other points raised in the survey feedback – we want you to know we’ve read every response and we’re listening. We also want to say thanks to the many people who wrote to say how much they love ChillOut and how much they enjoyed this year’s festival.

More than anything, we want to give a shout out to the person whose answer to the survey question 'How can we improve ChillOut?’ told us ‘Make it rain every year!!!’. After a tough weekend dealing with awful weather, that made our day. Whoever you are, you rock.

 

Thanks for voting for us

An online poll on the Sydney Star Observer and Southern Star websites in April found that ChillOut is Australia's favourite gay and lesbian festival outside the big cities, placing second in Sydney (after Mardi Gras) and Melbourne (after Midsumma). We’re up there with the big kids, and we’re grateful for your support.

 

Photo galleries online now

Visit the 2010 Photo Gallery page to see slideshows of all the events from ChillOut 2010: A Bush Odyssey. We are adding more photos regularly so be sure and come back, or visit our Flickr page and make us a contact.

 

ChillOut 2010 is over – thanks so much to all of you who came (despite the rain), to our wonderful volunteers, workers, stallholders, event promoters, sponsors, supporters and everyone who helped us create yet another memorable long weekend of queer pride in country Victoria.

Planning for ChillOut 2011 will start soon, and we want your input. Tell us what worked, what didn’t, what you loved and what you’d like to see next year.

Our online survey takes just a few minutes to complete and the information you provide will help us immensely as we start thinking about next year.

This survey is now closed. Thank you to all respondents.

See you in Daylesford from 11–14 March next year for ChillOut 2011.

ChillOut Carnival Day – thanks everyone!

A big THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who braved the weather and came to ChillOut Street Parade and Carnival Day today. The rain stayed away for most of the day and the cool, mild weather made for a great day of celebration and fun.

Thanks also to our extraordinary army of volunteers who gave up their time to help us create another weekend of entertainment, fun and down-home country spectacle. We could not do it without you.

But it isn't over yet. ChillOut continues on Monday with an expanded events program, so there's no need to rush back to the city. Stay another day and we'll see you on the streets.

Left: Daylesford has gone rainbow flag mad for ChillOut. Photo by Stefan.

 

ChillOut gets underway with the Slowest Lunch

ChillOut's major fundraising event, the Slowest Lunch, yesterday raised more than $22,000 for the ChillOut/CFA Fire Smart Appeal. A capacity crowd packed Sault Restaurant in Sailors Falls to hear ChillOut Guest of Honour Christine Nixon speak and to buy up big in the charity auction, hosed by the fabulous Miss Dolly Diamond (centre, above, with representatives of the CFA Glenlyon Group).

The former Victorian Police Commissioner and now head of the Victorian Bushfire Recovery and Reconstruction Authority, Ms Nixon spoke about her experiences leading the recovery effort since last year's Black Saturday fires, praising the extraordinary generosity of Australian businesses and individuals in supporting those who lost homes and family members in the fires, and drawing a parallel between that spirit of community and what she had seen over many years in her dealings with the gay and lesbian community.

“What I’ve seen is people treated decently and fairly, and that’s what I think this is all about,” she told the crowd. “About our communities, about you coming together for this ChillOut weekend, and ChillOut is really a great celebration of all of you and all of us as a community. And that you’ve recognised the CFA as part of that as well is a great recognition for all of you.”

 

ChillOut gets into full swing today

Today’s ChillOut program includes events for everybody. Get your blood pumping with bushwalking, mountain biking, horse trail rides, bocce or a round of golf, then test your sexual health knowledge at Rainbow Rodeo, see some clogging, watch a roller derby match, and get settled in for the evening with great entertainment including Dolly Diamond, Back to the Bathhouse, Gay Conversion School Drop-Out, Cream and Inn and Out.

Plus there’s great food, Twilight Cinema, the Vagina Monologues, music, cocktails and the stunning surroundings of Daylesford, which has gone rainbow flag mad for the weekend. If you’re still deciding what to do this weekend, there is still some accommodation available.

All this and more – see today's program for full details.

Advance sales tickets for Carnival Day and Dance Party are now available. Buy tickets.

 

Free shuttle bus from Ballarat on Sunday

A free bus service will operate between Ballarat and Daylesford on Sunday, 7 March (ChillOut Street Parade and Carnival Day). Places are limited. More information.

 

Get on board the Space Shuttle

Getting around Daylesford and Hepburns Springs over the ChillOut weekend couldn't be simpler. The ChillOut Shuttle Bus will run all weekend to get you safely from venue to venue, out for the evening and home again.

The shuttle bus operates Friday evening (5pm–1am), all day Saturday and Sunday (10am–1am) and Monday morning (10am–1pm) on a continuous loop between Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, taking in all Chillout venues and passing close to most accommodations.

Look for the special ChillOut bus signs, pick up a flyer from the information centre or most ChillOut venues, or see more details online.

 

Stellar lineup for Cream

A ChillOut favourite, Cream returns to the Old Hepburn Hotel for an afternoon of top-notch female music on Saturday, 6 March.

Cream 2010 promises to be the best yet, with this year’s line up consisting of the cream of Melbourne female artists and blending experienced campaigners such as Emma Wall, Michelle Parsons and Sam Lohs with the youthful essence of the up and coming Rosie Burgess Trio and down and dirty rock ’n’ roll with the Nat Allison Band.

The lineup promises a relaxed afternoon building up to a mighty rock show in the evening.

The event will once again be staged in the Old Hepburn Hotel’s shady beer garden (inside if weather is not suitable).

Great food available including vegetarian options and drinks at bar prices.

Cream 2010 at The Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs
Saturday, 6 March from 4pm. $25 admission (includes a Fire Smart Appeal donation). Bookings 5348 2207

 

Twilight Cinema — movies under the stars

NEW for ChillOut 2010 – grab your picnic rug, a selection of local food and wines, and head down to the Mineral Springs Reserve in Hepburn Springs for some of the best queer cinema of recent years.

Sat: Brokeback Mountain

Ang Lee's moving, tragic masterpiece tells the story of two young ranchhands who meet and fall in love on Brokeback Mountain.

‘Mesmerising throughout, this is a truly magnificent film that lingers and affects meaningfully’ — Urban Cinefile.

Sun: I Can’t Think Straight

A huge hit at last year’s Melbourne Queer Film Festival. Jordanian Tala is getting ready to be married. Then she encounters Leyla, an Indian woman who is dating her best friend.

Two Cultures. Two Traditions. One Love,

Mon: Milk

Gus Van Sant’s award-winning biopic brings San Francisco's iconinc gay activist, Harvey Milk, to the big screen in a performance that won Sean Penn a Best Actor Oscar®. A moving, emotional and sometimes angry film that shows what can be achieved by one ordinary man.

‘Harvey Milk was an intriguing, inspiring figure. “Milk” is a marvel.’ — New York Times

• Twilighy Cinema events are at the Sound Shell in Hepburn Springs reserve. .
• Gates open 7:30pm; film screening commences at dusk.
• Entry $15 per .

Twilight Cinema at Hepburn Springs Reserve (in the sound shell)
Sat 6, Sun 7 and Mon 8 March from 7:30pm (film screens at dusk). BYO blanket, chairs, food and drinks, or buy food and drinks at the venue. Entry $15 per person (includes a Fire Smart Appeal donation). Bookings 1300 734 014 or online.

 

Dog show is barking good fun

Don’t miss the ChillOut Dog Show, hosted this year by Mzzz Erin Tasmania.

Whether you’ve got a pampered poodle, a str8-acting staffie, a bisexual beagle or some other four-legged significant other, bring that homo-loving hound with you to the Carnival and you could win some awesome prizes, courtesy of Daylesford Mind Your Pet and Spoilt Puppy.

Enter your dog in any of four categories:

• butchest dog
• most fem dog
• dog with the best trick
• dog that looks most like its owner

ChillOut Bush Dance at The Palais, Hepburn Springs
Friday, 5 March from 8pm (doors open 5pm for dinner and pre-dance drinks). DJ JUGS plays after the bush dance. $20 admission – this event directly supports Chillout. Bookings 5348 4849 or online

Register on the day. Free after Carnival Day entry. Please note that all dogs are Carnival Day must be on a leash.
 

Thanks to our generous donors

Next week's Slowest Lunch looks set to break ChillOut fundraising records, with an impressive array of great items up for auction at the sold-out event. Proceeds from this event directly support the ChillOut/CFA Fire Smart Appeal, raising funds for local bushfire brigades.

We wouldn't be able to do this without the support of dozens of local businesses and individuals who have donated items for the auction. Check out the list of donors and suport the businesses that support ChillOut.

 

In space, no-one can year you yodel

The party atmosphere gets started on Friday night with the ChillOut Bush Dance at the Palais, Hepburn Springs.

If you've never been to the bush bance, you're missing out on a night of energetic, friendly and raucous fun, with popular bush band Family Farm guaranteed to get you up and dancing.

Grab a partner, take to the floor and join in classic group dances like ‘The Virgina Reel', ‘The Flying Pieman' or the ‘Love 'Em and Leave 'Em'.

Even if you've never bush-danced before, our experienced dance caller will take you through the moves for each dance, or just sit back and watch the experts move.

It's hilarious fun, a high energy and high camp way to get into the country spirit and kick off your ChillOut weekend.

Tickets for this signature ChillOut event are selling fast.

ChillOut Bush Dance at The Palais, Hepburn Springs
Friday, 5 March from 8pm (doors open 5pm for dinner and pre-dance drinks). DJ JUGS plays after the bush dance. $20 admission – this event directly supports Chillout. Bookings 5348 4849 or online

 

Roller Derby comes to ChillOut

Get ready for some biffo! The hottest new female-dominated sport is coming to ChillOut with Derby Inferno set to take place on Saturday 6 March.

The Libertines will take on the Gold Diggers in an all-in grudge match - last time these teams met, the Gold Diggers came from behind to win by just two points, and now the Libertines are looking to settle the score.

Roller Derby is a fast, action-packed game that dates back to the 1930s but has recently experienced a resurgence in Melbourne and now has it's own league in Ballarat. Two teams of five, each with two point-scoring members (‘jammers') at the back. The objective is to get your jammer through the pack as many times as possible while blocking the other team's jammer and knocking over rival players. It's fast, it's furious and it's brutal.

Derby Inferno form guide

The Libertines: Capably captained by Apocolypse Nerd, The Libertines are proud to wear their purple team shirts and their bruises to match with much joy and enthusiasm. They're a dedicated posse of hard-hitting, fast skating ladies with thighs of steel!

The Gold Diggers: With Miss Hellfire in command of the Gold Diggers, you better watch your stance and get ready for a slamming. They might glam it up in Gold and look all sweet and innocent, but you best make sure you know where your team is before they pick you off and take you down.

Derby Inferno! Roller Derby at Arc Stadium, Daylesford Secondary College.
Saturday, 6 March from 3pm. Adults $10, children $5, under 5's free. One dollar from each ticket will go to the ChillOut/CFA Fire Smart Appeal. Presented by the Ballarat Roller Derby League.

 

Golf tournaments at Hepburn Springs and Creswick

ChillOut's annual golf tournament has become so popular that this year we've expanded the event to two days, so you can play at Hepburn Springs on Saturday and now a new golf day at the stunning Novotel Forest Resort, Creswick on Monday. Play either day or play both days to be in the running for the major prize.

Enjoy the relaxed bushland setting of the Hepburn Springs Golf Club on day one of the tournament, then stay on in Daylesford for the holiday Monday and enjoy the stunning new course, designed by Tony Cashmore, at the Novotel Forest Resort.

The course incorporates natural vegetation in a bushland setting with 15 picturesque lagoons to add to the challenge of the game and beauty of the environment.

The event is two-person ambrose, a popular tournament format that enables golfers of different abilities to play together as a team. Mixed and same-sex pairs are welcome at this new event, with prizes donated by Mercedes-Benz Melbourne.

                

Day 1: Hepburn Springs Golf Club, Sat 6 Mar from 11:30. $25 entry includes BBQ and Fire Smart Appeal donation.
Day 2: Novotel Forest Resort Creswick, Mon 8 Mar from 11:00. $35 entry per team, including Fire Smart Appeal donation. Club hire ($30 per set) and motorised golf cart hire ($40) available.

 

Countdown to ChillOut

It’s on! Aussie singing legend Deborah Conway leads a stellar line-up in this year’s fantastic ChillOut Festival — the largest GLBT celebration in rural and regional Australia.

The four day festival, which runs across the Labour Day long weekend (March 5–8) is now in its 13th year. The theme is 2010: a bush odyssey – a phrase that aptly sums up ChillOut’s journey from a small gathering of GLBT business folk in 1997 to a huge celebration which last year attracted more than 25,000 visitors.

ChillOut has something for everyone: there are bushwalks and barn dances, cocktails and carnivals, soirees and street parades.

But ChillOut isn’t all about song and dance — far from it. It’s also about watching movies under the stars, lively cabaret, long slow lunches, playing golf and lawn bowls, drinking fine local wines, walking in the woods, relaxing in the spas, hunting for bargains at Carnival Day and the makers’ market, contemplating visual arts, making new friends, catching up with old ones, cheering the Dykes on Bikes, dressing to the nines, and, of course, taking in the gorgeous scenery that only the Daylesford region can offer.

There’s even a courtesy bus linking all the major venues all weekend.

The time to organise your ChillOut weekend is now! For full details of events and accommodation options, hit the website – chilloutfestival.com.au – or pick up a copy of the program at your favourite queer bookshop or club.

 

Join the parade – applications open now

ChillOut's annual street parade brings a touch of magic to the main street of Daylesford, attracting enthusiastic crowds of locals and visitors for a spectacle in a unique small-town setting.

The parade gets underway at 10:00 am on Sunday 7 March. Be there from 8:30 am to grab a delicious breakfast in one of our great local cafes and take in the pre-parade atmosphere.

Applications for entries in the street parade are open now. Click here for information.

 

Test Drive at Mercedes-Benz Melbourne

Simply test drive the all new E-Class, CLC or CLS at Mercedes-Benz Melbourne and you'll go into the draw to win the ultimate chilled out weekend including:

• Chauffeur-driven experience in a Maybach to stay at the Novotel Forest Resort Creswick;
• 3-Course Dinner for two and Deluxe Spa treatment at the Lakehouse, Daylesford
• Chilled bottle of Moet

Please visit mbmelbourne.com.au for full terms and conditions.

Click here to download test drive voucher and visit 135 Kings Way, South Melbourne, (03) 9690 8833.