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Have A ‘Muddy’ Fun Time At Mud World In Ipswich: What To Expect

It’s time to get down and dirty with your children at this year’s Mud World in Ipswich on 21-22 April 2018. With all tickets sold out, we’re pretty sure you’re excited for this event so we’ve listed down everything you need to know to make the most out of your muddy day.

There will be two sessions per day:

Session 1 – 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Session 2 – 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Now, for the fun part! There are five realms that you can explore here.

Muddy Monsterland

Ideal for the little ones 0-2 years old, this land has a playground, shops, a bakery where you can get yourself a mud pie, and a cafe where you can grab a cup of coffee. Your little ones (and you!) will definitely be entertained here. Fun activities also await such as mud sculpting and sketching.

Village of Mud

If you’re feeling active and competitive, head on over to this realm and get on the giant mud pit! This realm is open to all ages and there are organised games that you can participate in such as tug of war, stuck-in-the-mud, and statues.

Mud Mania

For the brave hearts out there who don’t mind getting a little bit more of mud, head on over to this realm. There is a maze of mud that you have to overcome. Don’t worry, goggles will be provided. Keep in mind, it’s going to get really squirmish here!

LandSlide

How about sliding down slippery slopes filled with mud? Sounds fun, eh? This is going to be a popular attraction that will have everybody giggling with joy.

The Great Muddy Mountain Range

If you have a thing for climbing or trekking, take on the avalanches of mud in this realm. This is perfect for those who are looking for more challenging ways to navigate through more mud!

When nighttime falls, join the Muddy Wonderland Dance Party on Saturday night! This is the first ever dance party IN THE MUD!

You and your kids can dance your hearts our whilst Dj Steve play amazing beats! There are going to be lights for that party vibe.

This event will start at 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

There will also be food trucks to satisfy your hunger whilst you take breaks from the all the fun mud activities.

This two-day festival is by Nature Play QLD, an organisation that is dedicated to have kids more involved in outdoor play and to be in nature. They hold events across the country.

Address: Limestone Park, 42a Chermside Rd.

11 Fun-Filled Days at the Ipswich Festival

Get ready for the Ipswich Festival happening on 12-22 April. It’s going to be a jam-packed 11 days filled with entertainment and fun.

Catch some of the major events happening at the festival.

11 April – Michael Jackson: The Legacy Tour

Catch The Legacy Tour of Michael Jackson at the Ipswich Civic Centre starting at 8:00 p.m.

Get your tickets here.

12 April – Fire On The River

Catch Fire On The River at 7:00 p.m. at the Riverlink Shopping Centre and watch fireworks light up the night sky synchronised to music. This marks the beginning of the festivities ahead.

Watch Jet Man and his friend propel above the Bremer River and fly into the sky as fireworks explode.

The shopping centre will also have exciting activities starting at 12:00 p.m. leading to the fireworks show.

Smile for the photo booth in the food court and get a chance to win VIP passes to a great dining experience. Catch Dr Hubble Bubble Show and Despicable 3 with your kids as well. At 6:15 p.m., there will be a Joel Fenton’s Comedy Circus Stun Show.

12-22 April – Artworks & Unmasked

See artworks from artists throughout South East Queensland at the St Paul’s Anglican Church from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

There will be over 200 work entries on display.

The school will also showcase their talents throughout festival dates called “Unmasked.” A giant 1.5 mask will be painted by Ipswich Schools following this year’s theme: Waterways and the fate of the Sea.

12-21 April – Festival Gala

Looking for something sophisticated to do during the festival? Come to the Festival Gala and let the Ipswich City Symphony serenade you at the Ipswich Civic Centre. Get a chance to watch Silvie Paladino sing for the first time with the Ipswich City Orchestra. Tim McCallum and David Hubbard will be there as well.

Book here.

13 April – Mayor’s Festival Ball

Join the Mayor’s Festival Ball from 6:30 p.m. at the Ipswich Civic Centre that will transport you the 80’s. Dance the night away.

Call (07) 3812 2974 for bookings.

14 April – Creative Kidz

From 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at various locations from Brisbane to Ipswich Central, take your kids with you and take part in interactive workshops, robotics, tech-fun, music, and craft design.

View all the Creative Kidz’s activities here.

14 April – Festival of Lights

Watch your favourite storybook character come to life at the Festival of Lights on Brisbane Street, Ipswich Central. You can come dressed as your favourite storybook character, too!

14 April – Heritage Street Bank Party

Join the Heritage Street Bank Party starting at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. There will be great performances at d’Arcy Doyle Place, Food Lane Stage and at the DJ Stage. Make sure you get your dancing shoes on because you will be doing a lot of dancing!

14 April – Honk!

If you’re not up for some dancing, why don’t you check out vintage and classic vehicles at the Honk! event starting at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Brisbane Street.

15 April – Ipswich Hospital Foundation Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Bike Ride

Join the fundraising bike ride by the Ipswich Hospital Foundation starting at 8:00 a.m. at Fernvale Futures Centre.

Available trails:

14 km
44 km

Get more details here.

15 April – Gala Doll Fair

Do you love dolls? Come to the Gala Doll Fair at the Ipswich Civic Centre from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Ticket prices here.

18 April – Cabaret Five Foot Two

Join Melissa Western for Cabaret Five Foot Two starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Ipswich Civic Centre. Her performance is a tribute to the “vertically challenged” artists such as Kylie Minogue, Dolly Parton, and many more.

Book here.

18 April – Ride to Work

Ditch your vehicle and Ride to Work from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. presented by Shine Lawyers. This event encourages the local community to ride to work and celebrate the benefits of riding to work. There will be a post-celebration breakfast at d’Arcy Doyle Place.

19 April – 60’s Music

Watch a live musical from the 60’s at the Ipswich Civic Centre by The Beach Boyz. Tickets are at $35 each.

20 April – Fiesta, Food, Fun & Flavours

From 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Queens Park, enjoy delicious food at Street Eats whilst your kids enjoy free children’s workshops. There will also be giant games and activities. Of course, it’s not going to be a first without the main stage entertainment by exotic Belly Dancers, Bollywood Dancers, and the traditional South Pacific Islander Fire Dance.

21 April – Jazz, Wine & Blues

At Queens Park from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., get ready for same jazz and blues as Ipswich City Big Band, Elly Hoyt, Asa Bromhall, River City Aces, Aaron West and the Custodians, Devil’s Kiosk, and Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows will give you the kind of entertainment that you seek.

21 April – It’s All Gone Mad

Dress as one of the characters from Alice in Wonderland at The Tivoli Drive In Theatre. Gates open at 3:00 p.m. oink the maddest tea parties with the Mad Hatter, there will also be a croquet court with the Red Queen. Make sure that you look for Cheshire Cat whilst you’re there!

Catch two flicks, Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass starting at 6:30 p.m.

21 April – Ipswich Festival Criterium

Catch the return of the Ipswich Festival Criterium from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Queensland Penny Farthing and Historical Cycle Club have joined together to display ride of penny farthings and other historical bicycles.

Make sure you bring your own blankets and enjoy live music and food.

22 April – Ipswich 100 Bike Ride

Get active on the last day of the festival starting at 6:00 a.n. at the University of Southern Queensland Ipswich Campus.

Available trails:

100 km
50 km
25 km
5 km

To know more about the events, click here.

Brookwater Golf Course To Host Their First Outdoor Cinema With A VIP Experience

On 14 April, catch a flick outdoors at the Brookwater Golf & Country Club as they host their first outdoor cinema, “Movies On The Green,” from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Bring the whole family and catch their free screening of Trolls.

There will be food and drinks available that night. Cool prizes and giveaways will also be up for grabs.

For the best experience, there will also be a VIP section that includes:

Premium seating (Terrace seating)
3-course dinner
Two glasses of wine
A bottle of Pol Roger champagne

You get a chance to win the VIP experience by clicking “love” and sharing their post on Facebook. Click here.

Keep Your Children Busy At Jamie’s Ministry Of Food In Ipswich

Keep your kids busy during the autumn holidays and let them learn how to cook sumptuous dishes in the kitchen.

Jamie’s Ministry of Food is coming to Ipswich for a four-day cooking program starting at 3 April 2018.

There will be two courses available and each course will run for four days.

Course 1

3 April – 6 April (10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.)

Course 2

9 April – 12 April (10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.)

The cost:

12-16 year old’s – Concession: $140 per person
17-18 year old’s – Student: $210 per person

With this course, your children will be able to learn to cook 24 of Jamie Oliver’s delicious recipes.

All ingredients, recipes and lunch during the four-day course will be inclusive.

You can book here.

Address: d’Arcy Doyle Place, 116 Brisbane Street

Don’t Be A Fool, Save A Life: Be Part Of The April Pools Day Campaign In Springfield Lakes

Recent research done by Poolwerx showed a spike in the number of drownings in Australia. CEO and Founder of the largest pool and spa maintenance network in the country, John O’Brien conducted a research and found that 75% of people don’t know how to do proper CPR to save a life. This prompted Mr O’Brien to launch the April Pools Day campaign.

Save A Life, Refresh Your CPR Skills

On 3 April, Poolwerx in Springfield Lakes will provide a free online CPR course. This will help refresh the community’s knowledge of CPR. The facility is located at Shop 6A, Springfield Lake Metro Shopping Centre.

One of the best ways to practice CPR is on a specially-designed dummy. To kickstart this year’s campaign, a free online course is also available here from Kids Alive. There are two videos:

How to perform CPR on an adult
How to perform CPR on babies and small children

Each video has a step-by-step guide on the proper administration of CPR.

The Australian Red Cross will also provide 2,000 free online introductory CPR courses for the month of April. All you have to do is visit a Poolwerx store from 3 April to get the special redemption card and codeword.

The campaign promotes the importance of CPR and to encourage people to learn it. Drowning is the greatest cause of accidental death in Australia in children under five years old.

This safety initiative has acquired the support of the Australian Red Cross and Laurie Lawrence of Kids Alive.

The Kids Alive Program

Kids Alive was established in 1988 by Mr Lawrence to combat drowning in the nation. As part of their support to the newly-launched safety campaign, they have teamed up with Poolwerx through the “Kids Alive – Do the Five” message to people all over Australia.

The Do The Five program covers:

Fence the pool
Shut the gate
Learn to swim
Supervise
Learn to resuscitate

They will be prioritising homes where water safety is critical.

Recent Drowning In Ipswich

Earlier this year, Aliyana Caplin died after drowning in a backyard swimming pool. The two-year-old was seen unconscious in their family pool at Raceview and was rushed to the Lady Cilento Hospital. Unfortunately, the toddler didn’t make it.

Save Our Schoolkids Campaign

Queensland is also the only state in Australia that does not have a comprehensive State Government-funded swimming program in primary schools. An S.O.S. campaign named “Save Our Schoolkids” was launched in January this year by Queensland publications with the support of the Australian Water Safety Council, Royal Life Saving Society Australia, and leading Olympians.

The campaign is to urge the government to implement compulsory swim and water safety lessons in Queensland primary schools.

You can also take CPR refresher courses here.

Ipswich’s Olympic Silver Medallist Leah Neale All Set to Compete in Her First Commonwealth Games

After winning silver in the last Olympic freestyle relay competition, Ipswich’s very own, Leah Neale, is all hyped to compete in her first Commonwealth Games in April 2018.

Adding to her excitement is the fact that this time around, she will be swimming in the individual 200m freestyle event.

Leah Neale is excited to compete in the individual 200m freestyle event. (Photo credit: Australian Dolphins Swim Team/Facebook)

During the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games, Neale was hoping to participate in an individual swim competition, in addition to the Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay.

The former St Mary’s College student made the cut after placing third in the 200m freestyle selection trial. She clocked 1 minute and 56.86 seconds, coming next to Ariarne Titmus (1:55.76) and Emma McKeon (1.56.57).

Joining the Australian Dolphins in the Com Games is a big deal for the Ipswich international medallist, who missed out making the swim team in the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow.

International Experience

Neale, who now studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast, is using her memorable experience at the last Olympics to boost her confidence as she prepares for the Gold Coast games. It was her Olympic debut when she and her teammates grabbed silver, coming second to the USA in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay in Rio 2016.

Ipswich international athlete Neale with her teammates showing their Olympic silver medals at the Rio 2016. (Photo credit: Australian Dolphins Swim Team/Facebook)

International exposure at major sporting events such as the Olympics gives the 22-year-old athlete a better picture of what to expect in the Com Games.

Prior to the Olympics, she also represented Australia at the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, where the Australian team ranked 6th in the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay. She placed 21st in the 400m freestyle and 26th in the 800m freestyle during the same competition.

Last year, the Olympic medallist once again represented Australia at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Neale first joined the Australian Dolphins in 2014. She has the distinction of being the first 15-year-old in Australian history to get a time of under two minutes for the 200m freestyle.

The freestyle specialist is just one of the Commonwealth Games competitors who hail from Ipswich. Also competing at the Games are Ipswich athletes Cassie Purdon (High Jump), Deborah Acason and Alyce Stephenson (Weightlifting), Joseph Deng (Athletics), Matt Hodgson (Basketball) and Jordyn Holzberger (Hockey).

When and Where to Watch Leah Neale

Neale will be swimming against the best in the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Thursday 5 April 2018 for the Women’s 200m Freestyle event. Heat 1 will start at 11:00 a.m.

She will join the Australian team on Saturday 7 April for the Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final at 9:50 p.m.

Event:

Date and Time

Women’s 200m Freestyle

Thursday 5 April 2018

Heat 1 – 11:00 a.m.
Heat 2 – 11:04 a.m.
Heat 3 – 11:07 a.m.
Heat 4 – 11:11 a.m.
Final – 8:04 p.m.

Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final

Saturday 7 April 2018

9:50 p.m.

The individual and relay swimming contests will happen at the Optus Aquatic Centre in Gold Coast. Use the official Journey Planner from the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games website to find the best transport options to the venue.

Responsible Bus Behaviour: Step Up Program Conducted At Springfield Central State School

Proper behaviour during bus travel is being taught to students at various Queensland schools via the Step Up program and Springfield Central State School is the latest school to benefit.

MP Jordan Charis Mullen and Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey recently visited the Springfield Central school to talk about the public transport program.

As part of the “Governing from Ipswich” initiative, the Queensland Government’s Step Up Program ensures safe journey for students, other passengers and the bus driver.

TransLink Senior Network Officers and bus drivers met with the school’s Year 6 students. They talked about positive behaviour on buses and what they should do if someone acts inappropriately.

The program also educated parents and students about making small changes that would help bus travel become safer.

Trapped Animals In Springfield Rise Development Worries Residents

Residents of Springfield Lakes are expressing concern about the safety of wildlife trapped in the Springfield Rise development site in Springfield Central.

Kangaroos have been spotted in the area whilst the residential project’s construction is in progress. Residents are worried that there is no path for the animals to escape the area and they could be harmed during the ongoing construction.

Four thousand homes will be built as part of the Springfield Rise project and a significant area has been cleared for this purpose.

The residents’ concerns have reached environmental groups, Environment Matters 2 Us and Springfield Lakes Environmental Advisory Group (SLEAG). The groups have already filed a complaint with the Ipswich City Council regarding the matter.

The groups believe that the council should take responsibility since they were the one who approved the development.

Cr David Morrison and Cr Sheila Ireland said that the developer has undertaken all measures to get native animals out of the site.

A spokesperson for Springfield Rise at Spring Mountain also reassured residents that their clearing has been approved and that the process was based on their comprehensive Environmental Management Plan. They also employ a wildlife spotter on site throughout the clearing activities.

The developer asserts that all their management plans posted on their website have all been approved by the Commonwealth Department of the Environment. They are assuring the public that their plans are in compliance with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999.

View the management plans here.

Planned Bus Service to Help Augustine Heights Residents Send Their Children To St Edmund’s College with Ease

Families from Augustine Heights may soon be able to send their children to one of the city’s most prestigious schools with ease, thanks to a plan for new school bus service in the area.

School Takes Action

The suburb is one of the fastest growing areas in Queensland, along with Ripley and Redbank Plains. The growing population translates to more traffic in these areas and with minimal public transport available, St Edmund’s College has taken action.

St Edmund’s College, in partnership with St Mary’s College, is exploring the possibility of starting their new bus service, set to operate in 2019. Should everything go as planned, it will cover Augustine Heights, Ripley, and Redbank Plains.

This is the school’s initiative to help parents who wish to send their boys to the school without worrying about transportation.

What The Council is Doing

For its part, Ipswich City Council continues to find ways to improve its transport system. Cr Bromage is supportive of better transportation in the city. This, after a recently released traffic data showed that Augustine Heights and other outer eastern suburbs have maintained the highest five-year growth at 31%, based on the council’s 2017 Strategic Traffic Count Program.

“In particular, the continued high growth trend in vehicle trips provides justification for the need for Ipswich residents to be provided access to viable and high quality public and active transport alternatives,” Ms Bromage said.

Quest Hotels in Greater Springfield Opens, Health City Rapidly Taking Shape

Quest Hotels in Springfield Central has officially opened on 12 March as the Health City continues to take shape.

The serviced-apartment style hotel wanted to set an early opening on 5 March. However, noisy construction at the nearby site prompted it to delay the opening. The site next door is the location of the Greater Springfield Specialist Suites comprised of medical suites and professional offices. It is expected to open in May 2018.

The Quest Hotels management didn’t want to disrupt the patrons on that day whilst construction was taking place on the site next to theirs.

You Can Now Book a Stay

The new 82-room hotel is in the Greater Springfield’s Health Care Precinct. Despite the delay, room bookings are now available online.

It has six floors, four for Quest, a single floor for additional child-care and the bottom level is dedicated to retail.

Health City

Springfield City Group envisions the hotel as a strategic support to the 52-hectare Health City precinct and to further establish the city as a destination for business and leisure.

The Health City in Springfield Central is the designated central core of the health and wellness offering in Greater Springfield.