Editor’s Note

Hi Everyone,

This week’s edition is full of positive news which is always so great to share with you!

The mill is crushing, the boardwalk’s open, cruise ships are celebrating their first year back in business and Airlie Beach has just won Best Small Tourism Town in Queensland.

Earlier this week we invited a few representatives from the local tourism industry to a front-page photo shoot to celebrate the announcement.

I expected about seven or eight people to turn up and was amazed when almost 20 came along to celebrate!

It’s wonderful to see such enthusiasm and positivity return to our tourism industry and it is awards like this that boost morale for everyone.

Thanks to all of you who came along on Tuesday, the photo shoot was great fun!

As the winter months and its beautiful sunsets gain momentum, so too do our local festivals and events.

In this edition we include lineup announcements for the

Airlie Beach Festival of Music, details about tonight’s Welcome The Whales event and the many more.

One festival that is particularly close to my heart is The Whitsunday Writers Festival which is due to take place next September (read the full details on page 11).

I was part of the committee many years ago and enjoyed helping festival founder, Gloria Burley, put the event together for several years.

Gloria sadly passed away in 2018 and since then the festival has lied dormant.

That was until a group of passionate locals tenderly took the reins and reinvigorated the event.

I am honoured to be part of the new Whitsunday Writers Festival committee and I am sure Gloria would be thrilled to see her much-loved passion-project continue.

Rach

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” (Albert Einstein)

It takes a lot of courage to show our vulnerability and to reach out to strangers in the community and ask for help.

But this is something new mum, Amber Rosa-Salas has needed to do several times in the long journey to motherhood.

Amazingly, Amber discovered she was pregnant at eight months, and she was suddenly cast into a world of motherhood, one that she was not prepared for.

Having recently returned from travelling in Canada, she had nowhere to live and no idea about how to be a mother.

Since reaching out for support, she has felt the strong embrace of the community time and time again.

From the Whitsunday Housing Company finding her suitable accommodation, to the midwives providing her with essential items such as clothes and toys – the support has meant the world to her.

Most recently, Amber saw another element of community support shine bright when her fridge suddenly broke, containing all her eight-month-old baby’s food. She reached out on social media and was deeply humbled when another mum offered to lend her one.

By emptying her own drink fridge to preserve another’s food, this mum’s donation shows a true example of self-sacrifice.

“The community have been really good to me,” said Amber. “It really restores my faith in others. It was such a shock finding out I was pregnant at eight months, but since that moment, I have been really looked after by everyone. “Thank you to everyone who has helped me through this journey.”