Southern Gold Coast News

Connecting Southern Gold Coast’s Operations Manager, Rachael Cannard, flew the SGC flag in Auckland at the start of August during the Flight Centre Travel Expo. As a part of the QLD representation, Rachael handed out hundreds of SGC brochures and talked to lots of New Zealanders looking to book their next holiday.

Flight Centre’s Travel Expo attracted approx 8000 NZ locals and approx $3Million in holiday bookings during the 6 hour expo.

For any accommodation operators that are considering attending future expo’s in NZ – here’s a tip, have a flight & accomm package prepared for the best results on the day! Great images, fabulous activities and extra’s in your package will help you to secure bookings there and then.

Overall, the SGC was well received, Rachael spoke to many families and couples who love the Gold Coast as a destination, and many were heading back to our fantastic beaches armed with more info about the Southern part of the region, ready to explore the best part of the coast!

Coolangatta is getting a facelift!

Some of you may feel this is well overdue, and while we would normally have had to wait a little longer, GCCC have bought forward the Centre Improvement Program (CIP) for our business hub – WIN!

Click here for the first update and a bit of a glimpse as to which parts of Cooly are the next cab off the rank for a makeover.

I was lucky enough to see a presentation as a part of the Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce’s information night last week, and I can say that my initial response was very positive. All those comments and complaints about Cooly looking tired and old will certainly be a thing of the past once this project is complete. The GCCC CIP team have put together a great concept for the targeted area and the social and environmental impacts the changes will have on Cooly – in my humble opinion – will be very positive indeed.

Click here to have a look at the first update from GCCC and stay tuned for more info coming soon.

The first of its kind for the region, Bleach* Surfing the Fringe highlighted creative pursuits inspired by surf culture with a festival program that spanned fifty five events staged over sixteen consecutive days across ten kilometres of coastline. The festival incorporated contemporary live music performances, pop up art galleries housed in shipping containers, a street party, art projections on iconic landmarks, fashion events and more. Bleach* was bookended by existing major surf events The Breaka Burleigh Pro and the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro.

Economic statistics complied during Bleach* by Destination Research & Development highlight a total of $1.74 million in visitor expenditure across the duration of the festival, a figure we hope to build upon further in coming years as the event solidifies its place as a major fixture on the Queensland events calendar. The media exposure received by the event topped its economic impact – estimated at $1.9 million.

Close to 30,000 people attended the festival over its sixteen day tenure. Festival Director Louise Bezzina was overwhelmed by the response to Bleach* in its opening year. “The festival has been hailed as a great success by the local community as well as the visitors who attended the Festival.  It was extremely well received, and really put the Southern Gold Coast on the cultural map.”

Ms Bezzina stressed the importance of Bleach* to the local community and its impact on creative industries, surfing-related businesses and hospitality venues in the region. “Bleach* strives to provide employment and professional development opportunities for local artists.  The Festival showcases the creativity of the Gold Coast and the uniqueness of the area to a national and international audience.”

Festival organisers aim to run Bleach* in a similar format in 2013, but thanks to input from stakeholders and the public have identified areas of improvement to assist future festival growth.  “We will consolidate the visual arts and gallery program and look at enhancing the successful event components in 2013.  We will also review some of the boutique, pop up style events and look at raising more funding to ensure the festival has a greater impact nationally and internationally. The 2013 Festival will focus on greater artist collaboration between local and interstate artists,” Ms Bezzina said.

Chairman of Connecting Southern Gold Coast, Murray D’Almeida, said “The success of the this innovative initiative exceeded all expectations and the confidence of the Gold Coast City Council in supporting this economic driver and cultural Festival as well as out sponsors and volunteers was vindicated by the outstanding acclaim the event received locally and nationally.”

Festival organisers wish to thank attendees, sponsors, media partners, volunteers, artists and staff for their commitment to ensuring Bleach* enjoyed outstanding success in its opening year.

2012 Bleach* Surfing the Fringe Festival Statistics:

-       The inaugural Bleach* Festival ran from 11 Feb – 26 Feb 2012

-       The Festival program ran for 16 days and included 55 events from a range of disciplines including:

• Lifestyle
• Film
• Photography
• Visual Arts
• Theatre
• Fashion
• Food
• Music

-       The Festival covered 10 kilometres of coastline from Currumbin – Coolangatta with offshoots in Burleigh Heads (Breaka Burleigh Pro) and Surfers Paradise at the Arts Centre Gold Coast

-       Over 500 pieces of art and surf photographs were exhibited across 11 shipping containers, galleries and empty shops

-       More than 168 artists from both visual arts and performing arts showcased their work

-       The Festival had 60 volunteers

-       58 Sponsors, Government Partners and Supporters

-       45 pieces of art work were sold during the Festival – 0% commission was taken by the Festival

-       Close to 30,000 people attended Bleach over the 16 day period with several of the in-venue events selling out.  These include:

• Sway on Sunset – Komune
• Tijuana Cartel – The SoundLounge
• The Surfer and The Mermaid – Surf World Gold Coast and The Arts Centre

-       The Festival received national and international media coverage, including a story profiling Bleach* and several artists broadcast online through the Quiksilver Pro webcast with a world-wide audience of 6 million people.

-       Bleach* and The Arts Centre Gold Coast is in negotiations with an independent Theatre Company in Sydney about the on-selling of The Surfer and The Mermaid, a local production commissioned and produced by Bleach* and The Arts Centre Gold Coast.

-       Visitor expenditure across the duration of the festival was $1.74 million

We found this post on Business GC’s website and wanted to ensure our design and manufacturing businesses are aware of this new website…

An exciting new initiative supported by Business Gold Coast is the website www.goldcoastproducts.com.au

The purpose of the site is to showcase products that are manufactured or designed in our region. The project is in association with Stuart Kerr, who has been working with manufacturing companies on the Gold Coast for the last four years.

The site has already attracted almost 100 companies, with numbers expected to exceed 300 by early next year. There are plans to instigate a range of promotions, events, media coverage and initiatives during 2012 to ensure manufacturers gain maximum local, national and international exposure.

Innovation plays a major role, with many of our local companies developing world renowned products ranging from cosmetics to software. There are almost 3,000 manufacturers on the Gold Coast, generating an estimated $3b annually. The range of products is enormous, and can be generally classified into the following categories:

• Food & Beverages
• Clothing & Textiles
• Engineering & Mining
• Metals & Plastics
• Health & Medical
• Sports & Fitness
• IT & Communications
• Creative Arts & Design
• Automotive & Transport
• Marine & Water Sports
• Energy & Environment

We encourage you to visit www.goldcoastproducts.com.au for more information.

Bleach* is your Festival- please market it for the benefit of the Southern Gold Coast

I have mentioned in previous updates how important events and festivals are to our region, for the purposes of promoting the Southern Gold Coast and its natural and cultural assets, so as to attract tourists, and create more jobs for our local residents.

Since our inception over 3 years ago, we have seed funded Kirra Kite Festival (November) and Cooly Rocks On (June). We continue to sponsor these significant Southern Gold Coast events, which are now run by not-for-profit organisations, after we provided the administration to start with. We also sponsor the Swell Sculpture Festival (September.)

As referred to elsewhere in this Newsletter, we have now created Bleach*-surfing the fringe, a surf culture festival which will run from 11 February to 26 February this year, in venues and open spaces from Currumbin to Coolangatta. The objective of this Festival is to celebrate the launch of the Association of Surfing Professional (ASP) World Championship Tour (WCT), the first event of which is held each year under the auspices of the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro, which is conducted at Snapper Rocks, Rainbow Bay, in late February and early March.

Bleach* will showcase our Southern Gold Coast, surf-related, creative industries. Featured will be our Surf World Gold Coast Museum, as well as local artists, musicians, fashionistas, authors, film makers and photographers, to name but a few.

Bleach *will be the largest, continuous cultural festival ever produced on the Gold Coast and its content is receiving rave reviews both nationally and internationally. In this respect it emulates the Sydney Festival, which is a massive, multi-precinct celebration. So, I think we have hit the mark with it, from a regional, tourism promotion perspective.

I encourage you to be an ambassador for the Bleach*Festival by sending a link to the website to all your clients, customers, staff, friends and relatives both local, interstate and overseas   www.bleachfestival.com.au

Likewise, I hope that when the time comes you  will help promote Cooly Rocks On, Swell and Kirra Kite Festival through your networks.

Please enjoy Bleach* and don’t forget to go to the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro, where we will have a display along with the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Surf World Gold Coast Museum, two, major, not-for-profit organisations on the Southern Gold Coast.

The Southern Gold Coast has an amazing asset in the Currumbin Valley, as a gateway to the Gold Coast and Tweed hinterland. A key entry point to Australia’s Green Cauldron and the Scenic Rim, the Southern Gold Coast is a great place to choose as a ‘base camp’ and explore the beautiful hinterland regions on our doorstep.

We did some thinking and a lot of driving, and subsequently came up with a number of suggested Drives to help people explore the area from Mt Warning in the south to Mt Tambourine in the north and west towards Lamington National Park.

We have developed a DL brochure that is about to be delivered throughout the region’s traders and accommodation providers, as well as producing a download-able PDF version on our website!

Click the cover image to your right to see the online version! —->

Creative Industries Initiatives on SGC:

Creative Industries employ many people on the SGC, whether they be self employed or employed. We are lucky that we have in our midst painters, musicians, graphic artists, composers, photographers and movie makers, to name but a few. Through the efforts of ourselves and Cr Chris Robbins, the SGC now is home to the “Renew Gold Coast” pilot programme and the “Currumbin Creative Industrial Estate” initiative. Both of these projects are aimed at drawing out the creativity of and business opportunities for, artists and artisans of all persuasions in the SGC. Should any of our readers be or know creative people who might want to be involved in these initiatives, then they should call me on 55343500, for a discussion about how they can register their interest.

Australian Surf Craft Industry Association (representing manufacturers of surf craft) and Surf World Gold Coast Museum- joint Secretariat:

Surf World Gold Coast Museum at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Precinct is a tourism-catalyst project under the Gold Coast and Hinterland Tourism Opportunity Plan 2009-18. This means it has been designated for growth as a venue which will add value to our City’s future prosperity and employment opportunities. CSGC sponsors Surf World  www.surfworldgoldcoast.com as it does the newly created Surf Craft Industry Association www.surfcraftindustry.com by way of assisting with the development of this website.

Both of these not-for-profit organisations are critical to the economic fabric of the SGC and, at our instigation, have agreed to enter into discussions concerning forming a joint secretariat, which we would part-fund for a time, to enable both organisations to expand and grow with consequent benefits for manufacturers, tourism and jobs, on the SGC.

Government Grants for Business:

There are a myriad of grants out there!  Recently, after discussions with the grant experts, I summarized a number, and I refer all SGC businesses to the information here.

Gold Coast Airport Master Plan and Light Rail:

The big news is that the Gold Coast Airport and Bilinga is expected to increase its passenger movements over the next 20 years from the present 5 million pa to 16.3 million pa. Wow! CSGC fills the role of Secretariat for the SGC Light Rail Working Group. We have made submissions to the Queensland State Government to the effect that the expansion and growth plans for the Gold Coast Airport make it imperative that Light Rail to the Gold Coast Airport and Coolangatta be prioritized, even at the expense of the heavy rail connection, if that be the choice. We should all remember that the Light Rail corridor from Burleigh south is largely reserved along the Gold Coast Highway, which is the arterial on, and to the east of which, is situated most of the Gold Coast City’s tourist accommodation. Light rail will underwrite our City’s international competitiveness, we believe. It is important that all SGC businesses and residents make their feelings known to the Qld State Govt and the GCCC Transport Planning Division.

We are excited to announce a brand spanking new event for the SGC!

Connecting Southern Gold Coast in collaboration with Surf World Gold Coast Museum with the support of Gold Coast City Council present the inaugural:

BLEACH Surfing the Fringe.

This festival is a new initiative for Connecting Southern Gold Coast and is being produced by Creative Producer, Louise Bezzina. This Festival scheduled for February 2012.

The BLEACH Surfing the Fringe Program aims to:

• Complement and sit on the fringe of the annual international surfing events, Quiksilver and Roxy Pro with an indie style fringe creative arts program that has the Gold Coast’s unique Surf Culture at the heart (arguably the strongest in the world);

• To showcase the unique natural assets and destinations of the Southern Gold Coast such as SWGC with the view of extension to the whole of the Gold Coast, in future years. In showcasing these destinations environmental management and green practice will be implemented ensuring sustainability of both the Festival and the natural environment;

• To incorporate local and national artistic content, inspired by Surf Culture through Music, Fashion, Photography, Craft, Design and Film as well as provide increased capacity building and creative enterprise for the City’s creative industries;

• Provide a platform for new tourist visitors to engage with Surf Culture and the Southern Gold Coast region as an integral part of the Gold Coast City’s tourist value proposition; and

• Provide alternative artistic choices to visitors to the major surfing events by showcasing the breadth of talent of the region, as well as enticing longer visitation during this period.

This is your chance to be part of this exciting Festival.

We want to hear from you. Is your music, fashion, film, photography, design or art work inspired by surf culture? If so, email Creative Producer, Louise Bezzina louise.bezzina@southerngoldcoast.com.au by 30th August.

We want to hear your tunes, see your samples and artistic creations.

Gold Coast get ready for BLEACH Surfing the Fringe.

June 2011

This newsletter is proudly bought to you by Currumbin Alley

What’s On | Business News | Jim’s Update | Environmental News |Coming Soon

Time to get the Winter woolies out, but don’t put away your swimsuit just yet! Clear skies, sunshine and average water temperatures of 22-24 degrees celcius, means that the Southern Gold Coast beaches are still a great place to enjoy! And for those of you that live in the southern states, it’s a great time of year to escape the harsh winter blues and share the sunshine and good times.

With the SGC’s Great Winter Escape, you could pick up $4000 worth of holiday bliss to enjoy all that amazing winter weather we are so lucky to have here! Stay in Komune R e s o r t & Beach CIub PENTHOUSE for 5 nights, go skydiving, whale watching or snorkelling, have a dinner, lunch AND breakfast on us and much much more! Check out our Facebook page for details on how to enter!

What’s On

1. COOLY R O C K S ON! – It’s finally here! Time to find the bobby socks, slide on your coolest shades, don a leather jacket, slick your hair back and get ready to r o c k the streets of Coolangatta and Tugun!

2. The P a t c h | Exclusive Winter Preview - Fashion Designers Tara Fletcher (Love St) and Emma Milikins are Gold Coast’s own leading edge designers. Be at The P a t c h on Thursday 2nd June from 6.30pm for a preview of their winter range and silent auction of very speciaI one-off designs!
3. Raw Talent Quest – 12th June 2011 Currumbin RSL in conjuction with other sponsors will be hosting a Raw Talent Quest in the months of June and July. This event is designed to give live performance artists of all ages and styles the c h a n c e to showcase their talents in the community.
4. Alleygators “Old Boys” – 9th & 10th July For past and current members of the Palm        B e a c h Currumbin R u g b y Union CIub, a day to catch up with old mates and enjoy some footy!
5. Emerge Kirra – Queensland M u s i c FestivaI (QMF) is coming to Kirra this July for the first time ever. They are looking for local bands to play at the event. So if you have a b a n d, then this is for you! Click here for the application form today, as applications close 3/6/11 at 5pm.

Click here to read Jim’s latest update about the bustling office of Connecting Southern Gold Coast!.

Environmental News

World Environment Day - 4th June 9am-11am Join Friends of Currumbin and BeachCare for f r e e, fun, family-friendly dune care activities along the dunes at Currumbin Alley this coming Saturday.

Coming Soon

Watch out for the following events coming up in the next few months!

July	August	September
Tugun Bowlathon 30th-31st July Raw Talent Quest 2nd July	Coolangatta Markets 14th August Currumbin Valley Markets 28th August	Swell Sculpture FestivaI 9th-19th September

To contribute to our monthly newsletter, please email the details to admin@southerngoldcoast.com.au by the 23rd of the month for the information to be included in the following month’s newsletter, or call us on 07 5534 3500!

V i s i t us on Twitter or Facebook!