Visitors to the Mon Repos Turtle Centre can hatch a plan to have some fun by taking part in the Hatch Art Trail as part of this year’s Milbi Festival.
Hosted by Wide Bay Kids in collaboration with Kate Victoria Creative, Happy Hearts of Bundaberg and Bundaberg Regional Council, 20 larger than life eggs have been hidden throughout the Mon Repos Conservation Park with trail map available and prizes on offer for those who vote for their favourite design.
Participating business and community leaders gathered earlier this month in conjunction with Queensland Mental Health Week to get creative designing the eggs while also discussing the challenges faced in their industries and communities.
The artistic morning took place at the Kate Victoria Creative studios with owner Kate Neal facilitating the artwork, having previously helped with Wide Bay Kid’s Easter in the Gardens event.
“I myself find painting very therapeutic and relaxing and a lot of people that come, once you get into it you tend to just zone out and you sort of clear your mind a bit and you just focus on the painting, so I think it helps and it’s good for mental health,” Kate said.
“People often surprise themselves.
“They come in thinking ‘oh no I won’t be able to do that’ but, I try and break it down into steps that make it a bit more manageable and not so overwhelming and they surprise themselves.”
Best Practice Software Chief Operating Officer Craig Hodges was ready to take part with paintbrush in hand and he said it was a fantastic idea to bring the community together.
“I was invited to come along and share my interest in helping support people with mental health challenges,” Craig said.
“I think it’s affected all of our lives, it’s affected me from a personal and professional capacity.
“I really want to make sure that particularly younger people in our community know that business leaders and community leaders support them and understand and are trying to provide support for them.”
Craig said he was looking forward to spending the morning doing something creative and getting the chance to be part of the Milbi Festival line up.
“It’s a great relief from the day to day and hopefully it’s a chance to show my creative side,” he said.
“It shows people that no matter what you do or what professional capacity you have, we all have that creative streak that needs to be used.”
For the full Milbi Festival program, click here.
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