Despite the precipitation that arrived later in the morning, spirits remained high as the 350 plus riders taking part in this years Distinguished Gentleman's Ride set off on their 18k course via Noosa's iconic Hastings Street in support of Prostate Cancer and Men's Mental Health.

The event was very well organised and ran smoothly thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers headed up by their tireless coordinator Cameron MacGowan. Records numbers where achieved in both attendance and funds raised on the Sunshine Coast.

For more details, check out Debbie Noyek's second interview with Cameron MacGowan below.

Photos courtesy: Brent Harvey

 On Sunday September 30th 2018, over 120,000 distinguished gentlefolk in over 650 cities worldwide will don their cravats, tustle their ties, press their tweed, and sit astride their classic and vintage styled motorcycles to raise funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and men's mental health.

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride was founded in Sydney, Australia by Mark Hawwa. It was inspired by a photo of Mad Men’s Don Draper astride a classic bike and wearing his finest suit. Mark decided a themed ride would be a great way to combat the often-negative stereotype of men on motorcycles, whilst connecting niche motorcycle communities together.

That first ride in 2012 brought together over 2,500 riders across 64 cities.

Debbie Noyek interviewed Cameron on her Sunday afternoon show Easy Street, to talk about the annual event that has hit the street's of Noosa annually since 2014.

Photographs courtesy: Brent Harvey

Noosa FM's 'It's Global' host John Shaw has a great chat with Gabby Sutherland about Noosa Welcomes Refugees activities over the past few years.

Among other topics they discuss the upcoming International Day of Peace Refugee Forum to be held at the Noosa Leisure Centre conference room on Thursday 27 September at 6.30pm.

You can book your free ticket at noosawelcomesrefugees@gmail.com  (but be quick as there are limited seats available).

NOOSA FM is doing an Outside Broadcast (OB) at the Booin Gari Festival for the Gubbi Gubbi people.
 
On Tuesday 25th of September NOOSA FM will be airing a live broadcast from 10 am to 2 pm at the Lions Park near the Noosa Yacht & Rowing Club on Gympie Terrace, Noosaville.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you there enjoying the festival activities and hope you get a chance to pop over to the NOOSA FM tent to say Hi!

9:30  am – 9:40 am Emcee introductions and acknowledgements
9:40 am – 9:50 am Welcome to Country by Lyndon Davis
9.50 am – 10:00 am Parade with Gubbi Gubbi Dance, Drums of Mer, Tewantin State School and creation story puppets
10.00 am – 10:45 am Chris Tamwoy and Tania-Rose
10:55 am – 11:40 am Emily Wurramara

TRADITIONAL DANCE:
11:45 am – 12:15 pm Gubbi Gubbi Dance
12:15 pm – 12:45 pm Yulu Burri Ba Dancers
12:45 pm – 1:15 pm Butchulla Dancers
1:15 pm – 1:45 pm Drums of Mer
1:45 pm – 1:55 pm Soraya Contemporary Dance
2:00 pm - 2:40 pm Fred Leone and band
2.50 pm – 3:30 pm Mufussa and the Pride

9:45 am – 11:30 am Paint your own returning boomerang with Brent Miller
11.30 am – 1.30 pm Kids colouring-in space
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm Paint your own canvas using ochres with Melinda Serrico

10:00 am – 10:40 am Torres Strait Islandert storytelling, song and dance workshop with Drums of Mer
10:45 am – 11.25 am Aboriginal Artefact Display and Cultural Talk on local Kabi Kabi history with Lyndon Davis
11.25 am – 11.45 am Possum Skin Rug story with Melinda Serrico
2:00 pm – 2:40 pm Jandamarra Cadd artist talk
2:45 pm – 3.15 pm Lyndon Davis: Ancient Geometry in Nature and Art

WOMAN AND GIRL'S WEAVING USING TRADITIONAL FIBRES:
9:45 am – 11:45 am with Kilagi Neilson
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm with Renee Bahloo
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Emu Feather Jewellery Making with Jacquie Sandy

ALL DAY: Children’s sailing, retail, community and food stalls;
Nandjimadji Artist Display - a safe space for art, yarning and connection

Helen Cooke and assistant 'Scooby'. (Inset) left: Meredith Walker, right: Dave Johnston.

 Helen Cooke (above) was recently interviewed by Mike Scott on Monday Morning's with Scotty. The main topic of conversation was the Sunshine Coast Reconciliation Group’s up-coming 'Shared History' seminar: Archaeology – Adding to Australia’s First Nation’s Stories, to be held on Thursday, 2 August. Attendees are set to be taken on a unique journey exploring how Australian archaeology has the opportunity to develop the foundations for a shared identity.

Event co-organisers Meredith Walker and Helen Cooke said Aboriginal Australians of our First Nations were not actively involved in the early research and excavations in Australia, but now Traditional Owners are encouraged to be involved in all aspects of fieldwork on Indigenous sites, more engaged in researching their community and completing degrees in archaeology.

“Our keynote speaker for this event, Dave Johnston is a trailblazer in this field being the first Indigenous Australian to gain a degree in archaeology and having worked on more than 2,000 heritage projects across eastern Australia,” said Ms Cooke.

“He is recognised as a world leader in the field of Australian Indigenous archaeology, has been instrumental in the development of the Australian Government’s guidelines for Indigenous heritage and has developed a code of ethics for the World Archaeological Congress.”

The 'Our Shared History' seminar: Archaeology – Adding to Australia’s First Nation’s Stories will be held on:

Thursday, 2 August - 9.00 am to 2.30 pm
Secondary Lecture Theatre
Matthew Finders Anglican College
1-47 Stringybark Road, Buderim

To find out more  visit https://exploringarchaeology.eventbrite.com.au
or contact Meredith Walker on scrg.sharedhistory@gmail.com or 0425 257 999.

We are pleased to announce, that the band Bohemian Rogue with their entry 'Ode to Moffs' where voted the winners of the NOOSA FM 21 Summers Song Writing Competition.

And what a night the finalists concert was. Held at the J, a near packed concert hall of happy revellers where entertained by an exciting and diverse selection of local music.

The night started out with a tradition welcome to country from representatives the Gubbi Gubbi people. This included an entertaining and informative introduction to local indigenous culture and traditional perspectives, which was enjoyed by a very appreciative audience.

The evening was ably hosted by two of our NOOSA FM presenters, Therase Burke and Chris Lofven, who kept us entertained with their banter, especially during changeovers. The superlatives to describe the evening are endless with pretty well all of the 'fantastic night'  boxes being ticked.

The other awards on the night where: 2nd Place going to the family band First Bay and their song 'In Your Bones', and
3rd Place went to Stellerize with her composition, 'Be Your Babe'. There was also an Encouragement Award given out to 11 year old Indigo Walsh and her entry 'When The Sun Ain't Out'.

21 SUMMERS SONG COMPETITION 
for Singer/Songwriters.
 Proudly presented by NOOSA FM 101.3
 
The theme is 'Summer' and the 10 best, new compositions, selected by NOOSA FM in-house jury will be invited to perform on Saturday 2nd June 2018.
 
Representatives of the Gubbi Gubbi people will be opening the event with welcome to country,
dancing and traditional insights.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 acts as voted by YOU the audience!
 
* Support your local singers and songwriters*
* Get to vote to your favourite 21 Summers song *
* Come along to celebrate with NOOSA FM and be part of this fabulous live music event *

So leave this date open for a big party!!
 Saturday 2nd June 5.30 pm to 10 pm. at The J Theatre
 
with the assistance of the Community Broadcasting Foundation.

Suzie Jones, Tas - Silver (left)  Fiona Falzon, Qld - Gold (centre)  Maria Suarez, Qld - Bronze (right)

Fiona Falzon is heading for Auckland next week to represent our country in Karate's Oceania Cup, fresh from taking Gold in the Australian Open Karate Kumite Championships in Sydney earlier this month. Inspired by her 5 year old when he took up Karate, and then the story of a black-belt Grandma in the local paper 9 years ago, Fiona began a journey she says was "akin to climbing Everest". She began competing only 5 years ago and has won National titles in 2014 and 2016 in the Veteran's category (45 plus). Fiona says it has been life-changing, saying "The overall technique opens us up to insights into our life, producing inner strength through balance and peace - we don't need to lash out".

Fiona was special guest on NOOSA FM's Monday Magazine on the 30th May (podcast below) and spoke about the art and craft of Karate and the broader, holistic affect it can have on the body, mind and spirit.

For those who may be interested in learning more about Karate, Fiona suggests trying a couple of classes at different dojos (i.e. a room or hall in which Karate and other martial arts are practiced), as all are a little different, and it's best to choose based on how you are feeling while in each dojo.

Plastic Free Noosa is a whole-of-community project to reduce Noosa's plastic footprint. The project was initiated by The Boomerang Alliance, as part of their Communities Taking Control campaign, which focuses on achieving wide scale change away from plastic pollution. 

This year, Plastic Free Noosa has set an aspirational goal to reduce the use of identified single-use plastic packaging in Noosa by 50% by November 2018. To achieve this, we engage directly with food outlets, events, markets, and other organisations to switch from single-use plastics to better alternatives. We also encourage individuals to take up a plastic-free lifestyle. 

Kellie Lindsay from Plastic Free Noosa popped in to discuss their aspirations, goals and the latest with NOOSA FM.

Check out the interview below: