Camel races and Paint the Town Read: Mitchell Outback Queensland

It's been a busy week in Mitchell with, amongst other things, the Camel Races on Saturday and 'Paint the Town Read' on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Although I'm not a great fan of racing,  I have to say that the camels used at the Mitchell Races are healthy, and well cared for. This event raises money to keep our annual Agricultural Show an ever-increasing success.

Mitchell State School's 'Paint the Town Read' is also an annual event that celebrates National Literacy Week.  Guest author and speaker Brian Andrew gave talks to parents, teachers and the children on the theme of 'How to create a happy home'.  The Friday night Camp Oven Dinner at the Major Mitchell Caravan Park offered a three course dinner by the light of a full moon, an inspirational talk by Brian on positive life values, marriage and relationship themes, as well as lots of fun activities for the kids.

Friday morning began with an official opening, a short concert given by the school's marimba group , and then the entrance of a colourfully dressed Reading Bug. The children then walked up and back the main street of Mitchell, admiring the beautifully decorated shop fronts and stopping off at various shops and offices for storytelling by local business people. 

At 12:30 p.m. the children arrived at the park where they were divided into groups to talk about the main topics covered in Brian Andrew's inspirational book,  'I grow in Grandad's Garden'.  Doug and I were asked to speak to each of the groups about the topic: Courage to learn new things. Finally, everyone enjoyed a picnic lunch and a skilfully decorated cup cake supplied by our local baker. 

Jane Filan has organised this event for the last four or so years, and every year it becomes bigger and better.  Congratulations Jane! My one regret was that I forgot to take my camera and, with the sun shining, everyone wearing something red, and red balloons decorating the street, some photos would have been great to add to this blog. My excuse is that I was too involved in planning what I was going to say to the kids.