It’s a big week for community, with good news coming from many directions. We summarise the best bits below, before rounding up this weekend’s markets, live music and art shows, plus a few exciting dates for your diaries.
Free Comedy Tonight
Tonight, if you need a good laugh, head over to Jervis Bay Brewing Co for a free comedy show from 7pm. Laura Johnston is preparing for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and wants our help to get her match fit. Tuck in to the Friday Mexican Fiesta and make a night of it while the skies are clear.
Woebegone Turns 7 Tonight
Local free dive tour operators, Woebegone are celebrating their seventh year in business tonight with a “dinner and a doco” event at their premises in the Huskisson industrial zone, and a few tickets are still available if you wish to join the festivities, from 6.30pm $25/$15. Woebegone contribute to the wellbeing of our community and coastline, and may they continue to thrive for many more years to come.
Great News for Cancer Research
Congratulations to PhycoHealth for raising $40,000 towards clinical trials of a new product that may help alleviate side effects in people receiving cancer treatments. Thanks to sales of a limited edition skincare collection, this important research can proceed to the next stage. Read about it in our interview with Dr Pia Winberg and her colleagues at Sydney University, and see the skincare range – which is about to reveal a sleek packaging change – here.
Great News for Vincentia
A vital vote is now approaching for the future of Congratulations to the team who have submitted a bid to return the Vincentia golf precinct into community hands. There are still many steps to go, but this is a great leap forward, backed by MP Liza Butler. A vital next step will take place at a general meeting at the St Georges Basin Country Club at 10am on Sunday 3 August. Members who prioritise the independent future of Vincentia are encouraged to attend and vote “No” on Resolution 5. This will ensure the current bid, by Jervis Bay Community & Sports Club (JBCSC) can proceed. If successful, the Vincentia golf course, club house and facilities will also provide training and employment opportunities for young people in our community. For Liza Butler’s announcement, click here, and for a good read on the back story, click here.
New Buzz at Vincentia Village
It’s fantastic to see more new energy revitalising the Burton Street Shopping Village in Vincentia with two new openings this week – both feeding our bodies, in their way!
Meet the New Butcher Slicing a Difference in Vincentia: Mountain Side Meats has landed in Jervis Bay, bringing award-winning quality and family-run service to Vincentia. Owner Nathan Alcock, along with sons Benjamin and Lauchlan, are now looking after the area’s protein needs with skill, passion, and plenty of flavour. All beef is sourced straight from their Pyree farm, Nathan house-smokes and cures their own bacon and the winner for dinner is their large range of dry-aged cut meats displayed in specialised dry-aging cabinets that optimize the precise temperature perfect humidity enhancing tenderness flavour to the aging process. Open Monday to Friday 7am–5.30pm, Saturday 7am–1pm.
Balanced Physiotherapy and Pilates Expands: Congratulations to Vanessa Mckenzie on the transformation of the corner premises between Mountainside Meats and Phoebe’s Café, into a brand-new pilates studio and physiotherapy clinic, which is now approaching completion. A new program of classes is being prepared, including reformer classes in the “original” upstairs premises. Put your name on the list for updates on the new class schedule and instructors.
Winter Art Show
Also at the Vincentia Village, a new Winter art show at the Hub – shop 14, which is currently energised by Vincentia Matters as a community venue. From today (Friday 11 July) till Monday, five local artists are displaying new works for sale, from 8am till 2pm. The participating artists are Michelle Stewart, James Wei, Cissie Chen, Barbara Haynes and Karen Cunningham. Meet the artists, chat about their unique processes and buy direct.
If you are interested in using the space for your community group or activity, email bookingsvcch@gmail.com with your inquiry.
New Book About Heritage Church
Launched this week at a community event is a new book about the six-year community campaign to achieve heritage listing for the church on the corner of Hawke and Bowen Streets, Huskisson. Buried Truths: Respecting Huskisson’s Heritage by Shirley Fitzgerald is $35, available at Huskisson’s independent bookshop, Boobook on Owen or online.
Sunday Sessions
Our region is lucky to have so many venues supporting live music, not just on Sundays. Help them help indie musicians by turning up, consuming the unique blend of food and beverages on offer, and appreciating the endless hours of practice and dedication that each person invests in their craft – whether that is songwriting, playing an instrument, brewing a beer, proving a pizza dough, slow cooking a winter warmer, or creating an ambience for you to enjoy with your loved ones. Here’s a sample ofwhat’s on this Sunday, 13 July.
Jervis Bay Brewing Co: The Castaways, one of our all-time favourite local duos, will sweeten your Sunday from 3pm, with their pop, folk, country and blues covers. Leah and Tom create the perfect chilled groove for a slow Sunday afternoon.
Flamin Galah: from 3pm, relax in the unique surrounds of the Galah’s beer garden and enjoy the acoustic duo of Lucy and Hayley. While you’re there, peruse the new shipment of top-quality merch, including hoodies, that will style-up your winter look. Try a pizza from The Nest’s newly installed pizza truck. And sample some beer from one of the region’s most experimental and dedicated brewers.
Bannisters Rooftop Pavilion combines a sunset with a live music session every Sunday from 5pm and this Sunday it’s Alex Clark, a folk artist from the South Coast with a fusion of styles and a mix of covers and originals.
Local Markets This Weekend
Saturday 12 July: Callala Markets is on at the community centre in Emmett Street from 8am till 1pm promising school holiday fun.
Sussex Inlet community market is celebrating Christmas in July this Saturday, 4pm-8pm along Jacobs Drive including live music and Christmas lights, great food trucks and a festive atmosphere.
Sunday 13 July offers a plethora of excellent markets to choose from, including the Huskisson Markets at the sports fields from 8am till 2pm, with around 100 stalls to browse, from artisan food and beverage to pet gear and flea market items.
Kangaroo Valley’s monthly farmers markets will be behind the Friendly Inn on Sunday from 9am till 1pm with a Bastille Day theme and special guest appearance from the Kangaroo Valley Show, who will create a sit-n-knit circle with free tea and scones.
Ulladulla Wharf Market is also on Sunday, 8am-1pm along the picturesque working harbour that provides local establishments with seasonal fresh-caught fish. At the markets, supporting the Marine Rescue organisation, you will find stalls offering produce, jewellery and clothing, art and craft, plants and of course, great coffee to warm you along the water’s edge.
Plan Ahead
Irish Slow Sessions
Join a casual gathering of Jervis Bay musicians to play traditional Irish music on Sunday 20 July, 3-5pm at Sandbar Restaurant in Huskisson. Sheet music is available on the day, and you can stay for dinner of an Irish lamb main and Kilkenny beer for $30. All welcome, these sessions are held on the third Sunday of the month.
Owl Talk
Dr Beth Mott will present a talk on our forests and the night-life within, particularly the owls, 6pm to 7.30pm on Thursday 24 July (aligned with World Nature Conservation Day, 26 July). All welcome at the Community Hub, shop 14 Burton St, Vincentia. Beth is a Threatened Species Officer for NSW Department of Planning & Environment.
Travelling Film Festival
Husky Pictures is planning for the annual Travelling Film Festival on the last weekend of August. This is the country’s longest-running film festival that showcases Australian and international features, documentaries, and short films in regional Australia. See the program and plan your viewing, here. Tickets are $15 per film, $117 for a 9-film subscription or $70 for a flexipass that lets you choose any 5 films.
KV Folk Fest
Tickets are now on sale for the annual Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival, on 17-19 October, promising a weekend of music, poetry and dance, plus kids activities and plenty of festive atmosphere on the streets with buskers and chalkboard performances. Super early bird tickets are available till the end of July for $150 (12-17s are $50), which is a whopping $40 off the gate price. The fantastic lineup this year includes foot-stomping folk-string trio Apolline, who were AFMA Youth Artists of the Year in 2024, local favourites Benji & the Saltwater Sound Sytsem who fuse jazz, reggae and African beats into hypnotic soundscapes, a Morris dancing troupe Black Joak Morris plus Bavarian and Irish dancing, sessions hosted by the Butter Trackers that welcome anyone to join in, and so much more.
