Castlemaine State Festival (CSF) director Glyn Roberts has announced that the 2023 iteration of the premiere arts event will be his last in the director’s chair.
After six years, he will be stepping down in April 2023.
Known for his work across the Australian and international creative industries, Roberts joined CSF in 2017 and led the Castlemaine State Festival through two hugely successful editions of the biennial event, the 2019 edition of the festival was the most attended festival in its history, and his third and final edition, to open soon in late March looking to be the biggest yet.
Also, to his credit has been leading a highly successful multi-stage capital expenditure project through the development of the Castlemaine Goods Shed site as a multi-use arts and cultural space and HQ for the organisation.
Roberts’s passion, drive, and commitment to supporting the many disciplines under the arts umbrella made his time at the Castlemaine State Festival one of growth. Under his guidance, the evergreen arts event became one of the first at-scale productions in early 2021 to successfully emerge from the challenges of covid and associated restrictions.
Of his time at Castlemaine State Festival, the upcoming 2023 program, and toward a new chapter, Roberts today told patrons and stakeholders, it has been a great privilege to lead the Castlemaine State Festival for these past six years.
“I feel very lucky to have been able to call Castlemaine my home and to have had the opportunity to work alongside the amazing team and board here at CSF, the artists, audiences, stakeholders, and community members,” Roberts said.
“Since day one my task has been to ensure the renown of the Castlemaine State Festival as the leading arts festival of regional Victoria and Australia. I am particularly proud of securing $6 million to invest in the future development of the Castlemaine Goods Shed and with the team leading the organisation through the pandemic crisis period,” he said.
“The future is bright for the Castlemaine State Festival and I am thrilled for whoever fills the role of Festival Director and CEO next. I hope to see you all at the 2023 Castlemaine State Festival!” Roberts said.
Castlemaine State Festival Board Chair Dennis Goldner AM expressed the board’s gratitude for Robert’s achievements during his time as director.
“Glyn will be leaving the Festival in great shape, having injected the necessary sparkle into it to ensure its vitality, while navigating us through the pandemic and getting the Goods Shed going as our home and future cultural hub for Castlemaine,” Goldner said.
“Glyn is a young and talented arts leader whom we knew would be moving up to an exciting new role at the right time. That’s precisely what’s happening and the board, team and I wish him every good thing for what’s next and say a big thank you,’ the board chair said.
Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards thanked Roberts for his contribution to CSF and congratulated him on all he has achieved.
“Glyn is a well-established leader in the creative and arts space, and during his time with the Castlemaine State Festival has taken it to the next level,” Ms Edwards said.
“The combination of performance, music, literature, visual arts and film has helped the festival to have an extraordinary impact on the social, cultural and creative fabric of our community, building on its rich history.
“During Glyn’s tenure, he led the organisation through the pandemic, including designing a longer-format festival in 2021. This contributed to the economic recovery of our region,” she said.
“In partnership with the Board, Glyn’s leadership has also ensured the future of Australia’s longest-running regional multi-arts festival is strong. This has included securing $6 million in funding from the Victorian Government for the redevelopment of the festival’s home, the Castlemaine Goods Shed, as well as ongoing operational funding from Creative Victoria. This success is testament to Glyn’s significant engagement within the Castlemaine and Victorian communities, as well as his deep knowledge of arts and culture,” Edwards said.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Glyn over many years, particularly to advocate for continued funding for the festival from the state government, and I wish him and his family all the very best,” the local MP said.
After the upcoming instalment of the 2023 Castlemaine State Festival, Roberts plans to take on a position in North Queensland driving projects to support the thriving arts community in Townsville.
For more information about the 2023 Castlemaine State Festival which kicks off on March 24 and runs until April 9 visit castlemainefestival.com.au
Festival director announces departure
A permanent place for Safe Space
Castlemaine’s Safe Space (CSS) is going from strength to strength, helping over 130 individuals since it first opened its doors last July, and with the possibility of a permanent site now on the horizon.
The premise behind Safe Spaces is to provide a safe and welcoming place for people experiencing emotional distress, loneliness, or suicidal thoughts to drop in, have a cup of coffee, and chat with trained volunteers who have lived experiences of suicide.
At present CSS operates Tuesdays from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at the Senior Citizen’s rooms near the library and Saturdays from 1.30pm to 4pm at the Salvation Army Hall on Kennedy Street. Both spaces require a significant amount of additional work for volunteers, moving furniture around and making the spaces welcoming.
Having a permanent, centrally located home, would make the space more accessible and enable the possibility of expanding services. The proposed building is a centrally located former retail space, that could potentially be co-leased to other businesses such as musicians, and art therapists, which would aid in creating awareness of CSS.
CSS Project and Peer Volunteer Coordinator Amy Sonsie told the Mail that while they currently have 30 volunteers, more are always needed as each volunteer only works two shifts a month.
“Having more volunteers would enable CSS to consider expanding the number of sessions provided to the community,” Amy said.
“We have a great group – we are like a family and there is lots of ongoing support for volunteers.”
Amy noted that on average, the volunteers have been supporting three to four guests per session, with some guests enjoying group interaction including games, music, and puzzles and other guests who prefer one-to-one support.
“We have one gentleman who catches the train up from Melbourne regularly to visit us. He says he feels comfortable here. He travels up, has something to eat and drink, sits for a while and travels back to Melbourne.
“Isolation and loneliness are a big concern for many people and we are finding that roughly 80 per cent of our guests are over 50 years old and 95 per cent of them are male. Sadly, over the past three months there have been a number of older males in our community that have committed suicide,” Amy said.
CSS is currently in the process of creating a resource folder which can be accessed by sporting clubs, community organisations or those who are reluctant to reach out for support. These resources will be available at www.castlemainesafespace.org/ in the near future. If anyone is interested in becoming a volunteer email: castlemainesafespace@gmail.com
“So disappointing”: Big swing stolen from popular playground
UPDATE: A replacement swing has been installed!
Youngsters from across the region were left disappointed last week after the basket swing was stolen from the Harcourt Play Space in Stanley Park North.
Castlemaine Police are investigating and would love to hear from anyone who may have information about the theft.
Mount Alexander Shire Council has ordered a new basket swing and aims to install the new swing as soon as possible. Council thanks community members for their patience and understanding in the interim.
Community members expressed outrage at the theft on local social media site Hardcore Harcourt late last week.
“So disappointing, my grandies love the swing!” one community member said.
HALT heads to parliament house
Castlemaine grass-roots suicide prevention charity HALT (Hope Assistance Local Tradies) had a fantastic morning at Parliament House last Wednesday February 22 delivering a HALT talk to the tradies working on site, the maintenance team, politicians and staff.
HALT events provide tradies and apprentices with the tools to start having conversations about mental health and encourage tradies to support their mates when they’re going through tough times.
Bendigo West MP and Legislative Assembly speaker Maree Edwards facilitated and organised the event which enabled HALT founder Jeremy Forbes and the HALT team to make a presentation to around 70 politicians, tradies, maintenance staff and other parliament staff about mental health and suicide prevention.
“It was wonderful to have the whole HALT team at Spring Street for the event,” Forbes said.
“There were lots of positive and supportive conversations amongst the tradies and politicians after the event and HALT has already organised upcoming meetings with politicians who are keen to support HALT and see it grow across the state, and with Building and Construction representatives who were there and would like HALT to come out to their work sites to talk with their teams,” he said.
“HALT especially thanks Bendigo West MP Maree Edwards who has been a long-term supporter of HALT and led the charge to get HALT down to Parliament,” Forbes said.
Ms Edwards said the event was “inspiring”.
“HALT was founded back in 2013 by Castlemaine’s Jeremy Forbes, and their talks remind tradies about mental health and suicide prevention supports available. Thousands around the state have been moved and empowered by their talks,” Ms Edwards said.
“I was proud to host one of their famous Save Your Bacon brekkies (without the bacon!) for our parliamentary tradies as well as MPs.
“I’ve known Jeremy for a decade, and the visit by his team was as incredible as ever.
“Thanks to the HALT team for making the trip – and thank you to so many of my colleagues and the parliamentary tradies for coming along!” she said.
Digging into the science behind mining
Last Thursday a group of Castlemaine Secondary College students visited Fosterville Gold Mine for a careers field trip, learning all about mine operations and meeting a wide variety of industry experts.
17 Castlemaine Vocational Educational Training (VET) students from years 10, 11, and 12 met up with 22 students from Echuca College at Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville Gold Mine, where they meet engineers, environmental scientists, geologists, and trades professionals to learn about the science behind mining.
Castlemaine Secondary School teacher Anthony van Emmerik said the experience was excellent.
“The young people really enjoyed it and one student who is studying to be an electrician is now interested in pursuing a job at one of the mines in the future.”Part of my curriculum is to take the students to see different industries. We’ve been out to the Grand Prix and are hoping to go and see where the Bushmasters are made later in the year.
“It’s such good exposure for the students,” said Anthony.
“Taking the students to see different workplaces gives them something to look forward to and shows them what jobs look like in the real world.”
“At Fosterville we spoke to environmental experts and geologists and had a look at the automotive light vehicles and rock crushing. There’s such a broad spectrum of roles at the mine,” Anthony commented.
The careers field trips, organised by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), are designed to provide an understanding of the skills required in the mining industry and to learn about the varied careers available.
James Sorahan Executive Director of Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) Victoria said the mining careers field trips give students a unique opportunity to visit a modern operating mine and learn about jobs they can aspire to in mining.
“Local jobs in mining include; diesel mechanics, electricians, engineers, geologists, environmental scientists, and office roles in finance, safety, and human resources,” said James.
“A mine is like a mini-city, students are surprised by the diverse range of jobs. Whatever you are interested in there is a role in mining for them.”
The field trips first began last year with 14 schools from Horsham to Echuca taking part. Castlemaine Secondary College was the first school to take up the program in 2023; the rest of the year is filling fast.
“Mining is not just about Victoria’s gold rush past, it is a big industry now which will only be a more important part of Victoria’s future as we need more minerals essential to modern life,” said James.
‘Regional Victoria needs more pathways to mining at local TAFEs to point local kids to. Hopefully, TAFE and the Victorian Government will do more to deliver training to locals interested in mining.”
For more information on the program visit: minerals.org.au/careers, call 8614 1851 or email info.vic@minerals.org.au.
My Maldon with local woodwork artisan, professional writer and musician Josie Emery
Hi Josie, you’ve recently jumped back into your woodworking business ‘Maldon Artisan Furniture’. When did you first become interested in woodwork?
My dad was a farmer, but he was a carpenter and joiner by trade. As a child, he would always be in the workshop building and I was there beside him. So I’ve always had a love of it and dad taught me well.
Can you tell us about other careers you’ve had?
I started out as a professional writer; writing books, movies, and TV shows. After a while, I was headhunted to be the head of the writing department at the film school in Sydney. I went on to work as the Director of the Literature Board for the Australia Council of Arts. During this time, I transitioned from a male to a female, which was challenging. and totally necessary. I would have gone absolutely mad if I didn’t, but because I was a public voice I became cannon fodder for the newspapers.
During my time as the Director of the Literature Board, there was a political shift, and I chose not to renew my contract, instead going into freelance movies. Just in time for the global crisis. I ended up broke and alone in Sydney.
Dear friends of mine bought a house in Maldon and I went to house-sit for them for a few weeks. By the time they came back, I was the Editor of the Tarrangower Times and knew more people than they did! I had a workbench and a few tools so I decided to stay. I made furniture from junk around the property I was renting and then people started asking if I could make them a table or a bookshelf and suddenly I had a business.
I had to take a step back from woodworking for a while due to suffering from RSI. The jobs were getting bigger and the lease ran out on the workshop so I decided to explore writing and performing music and produced an album. After pursuing music for a time, I got the feeling no one was interested in what I was doing, so I stopped. I am proud of myself for trying, although I have to say of all the things I’ve done, I find woodwork the most personally satisfying.
What are you reading at the moment?
Chelsea Manning’s memoir. She’s an astonishingly brave and ethical woman. Her book makes you reflect on the nature of the world we’ve made for ourselves.
That sounds like a book worth reading! Do you have a favorite genre of music?
Early 20th-century classical, jazz, and country from the 1950s.
Do you have a philosophy that you live life by?
At the moment, I feel like I live in a state of grace, living in the deep flow of the universe that philosophers have spent years grappling with.
That sounds like an incredible place to be! How does one achieve that do you think?
I got there through deep introspection, mediation, ruthless self-analysis and not being afraid of change.
And finally, what do you love most about the place you call home?
The connection with the earth through growing food and the sense that I’ve arrived.
From our archives – the Mail looks back at 20 years of local news
The Castlemaine Mail looks back at pages from our archives in this monthly column.
20 years ago
February 14, 2003
New life for old lady. Former Guildford Hotel owner Siro Scopel was preparing to breathe new life into the historic old music hall at the rear of the hotel, which was once a pivotal part of life in Guildford. Tom Hall is pictured inside the music hall before it was restored with works carried out on the stage, roof, floors and old gaol! The hall has hosted many events in the years since including the Guildford Banjo Jamboree. In other news police were trying to track down the person responsible for lighting a fire at the rear of Tobins Lane in Maldon and 25 nominations had been received for the council elections.
15 years ago
February 8, 2008
The worst-kept secret around Castlemaine was finally out of the bag with the official announcement that food giant George Weston Foods Limited intended to acquire KR Castlemaine. The acquisition was subject to regulatory (ACCC) and other approvals and brought together two iconic Australian companies – KR Castlemaine and Don Smallgoods. A decision by Bendigo Radiology at Mount Alexander Hospital (now Dhelkaya Health) to discontinue bulk billing for Health Care Card holders was impacting local residents, with patients having to pay the full fee for services up front before receiving a rebate from medicare.
10 years ago
February 15, 2013
The Castlemaine pokies battle came to a close. The Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) knocked back a bid by the Maryborough Highland Society to open a gaming venue with 65 pokies in the old railway goods shed in Kennedy Street, Castlemaine. Council and local community group EPIC welcomed the decision concerned about the potential detrimental impact on the shire. Maryborough Highland Society accepted the decision and opted not to push ahead with any further bids to create a venue in the town, whilst supporters Castlemaine Sports and Community Club were disappointed in the lost opportunity.
5 years ago
February 23, 2018
Harcourt’s new mountain bike park La Larr Ba Gauwa Mountain Bike Park was almost ready for launch. The park features 34 kilometres of track and 11 trails. The park officially opened on the March long weekend and has welcomed scores of visitors over the last five years. Mourners were able to farewell loved ones with a casket in Mount Alexander Shire parks and green spaces while council worked to adopt a formal position on the sensitive issue. Council had earlier banned the practice after complaints from members of the public distressed at encountering a casket at a service in the botanical gardens.
Shae to represent Victoria at nationals
Castlemaine netballer Shae Clifford has been selected to represent the Victorian Under 19 netball squad at the National Netball Championships in Darwin in April.
The talented Castlemaine District Netball Association squad member and Sandhurst Football Netball Club netballer said she was absolutely thrilled to make the cut for the final squad of 12.
“I have tried out a few times and made it to the top 20 in the Under 17s and last year with the Under 19s, but this is the first time I have got through to represent the state,” Shae said.
“All up I had to attend about 21 hours of try outs. It was pretty grueling,” Shae said.
Shae has also been selected to represent the Banyule Blaze in the Victorian Netball League 19 & Under competition for the first time in 2023 and looks forward to taking part in the elite competition which kicks off on March 15.
Shae is currently juggling fulltime work at Jefferies Dental with training with the state squad and VNL squads in Melbourne.
“I am travelling to Melbourne two or three nights a week for training at the moment,” she said.
Shae is also looking forward to playing a practice match against South Africa at Melbourne Sports Centre (MSAC) in the lead up to the national event.
“It should be an incredible experience,” she said.
Shae enjoys playing in the midcourt in the Wing Attack, Wing Defence and Centre positions.
“I am most at home in Wing Attack and Centre,” Shae said.
It was been a whirlwind 12 months for the netballer who was proud to play her first full A Grade Open netball season with Sandhurst helping her side to a premiership.
“It was terrific to finally get a full season in with them in the wake of covid. I feel like during my time with Sandhurst and with specialist coaching at state level my netball is continuing to improve with every year and I am excited to see how far I can go,” Shae said.
CDNA squad coach Vanessa Saunders said they are incredibly proud of how far Shae has come.
“Shae started out in our Net, Set Go! training program at just four years old and has played domestic and squad netball with the association. She represented the Castlemaine Magpie Under 17s and then stepped up to Open competition at Sandhurst. However, covid disruptions have not enabled her to really develop her skills at the highest level,” Vanessa said.
“Shae was twice selected to represent the Northern Region at the State Titles but these too were cancelled during that period. We are delighted to see her take the next step along the pathway like other locals netballers before her and wish her every success. She is a great ambassador for the association and gives back by helping coach our junior squads,” Saunders said.
Shae thanked her family and all her coaches for supporting her opportunities to develop and progress.
“There are some big expectations on our Vic squad and I hope we can do everyone proud,” she said.
Castlemaine Cycling Club members excel at Nationals
Last weekend five riders from Castlemaine Cycling Club headed to Melbourne to compete at the State Titles held at the Darebin International Sports Complex (DISC). All riders came away with experience, personal bests, and some great results.
On Tuesday evening the club were thrilled to learn that junior competitor Bryce Nicholls and senior rider Jade Maddern have each won selection to compete at the Nationals in Brisbane in March off the back of their state title success.
Bryce Nicholls attained a bronze medal in 500m Time Trial and finished 7th overall in the Point Score, he also finished 5th in the 5-8 Final and recorded Personal Bests in the Individual Pursuit and Flying 200m.
Senior rider Jade Maddern won a gold medal in the Kilo final and a bronze medal in the Sprint final. Jade also recorded a PB in the Flying 200m.
Leshae Maddern finished 5th overall in the Sprint match and also record PB’s in the 500m Time Trial and Flying 200m in a terrific effort.
Zaren Fong-Sutton also notched up two fantastic PB’s in the Kilo and Flying 200m.
Hope Harnetty also had a cracker of weekend placing 5th overall in the 500m Time Trial, 6th in the Sprint Match, 9th in the Point Score and recording PBs in the Individual Pursuit and Flying 200m.
The Castlemaine Cycling Club would like to congratulate all five riders on their efforts and wish Bryce and Jade all the very best at the Nationals next month.
The Castlemaine Cycling Club riders would also like to thank Ken Madden for all his hard work and support provided over the weekend of competition.
World Champion stops over at Castlemaine Bowling Club
World Champion bowler Alex Marshall from Scotland paid a visit to the Castlemaine Bowling Club rinks on Saturday. Alex plays with Moama in the Bendigo Campaspe Saturday Pennant. Bowlers all enjoyed the opportunity to play with or against Alex. He is a great ambassador for bowls. The day marked Castlemaine’s final pennant game and the Premier Division 1 were happy to host the last match of the season before finals commence.
Division Four finished in fourth position but Premier Div 1 and Division 5 unfortunately didn’t make the finals. Next Saturday Division 4 play Golden Square at Marong. Best of luck to the side! Results for last Saturday’s matches were as follows:
Premier Division 1 Castlemaine 58 lost to the top team Moama 108. Lachy Darroch 10/29, Greg Brain 11/32, Peter Brain 16/25, Rod Phillips 21/22.
Division 4 Castlemaine 82 lost to Bendigo East 68. David Carlin 15/19, Maureen Fletcher 10/30, Mal Stevens 17/18, Steve McCoombe 26/15.
Division 5 Castlemaine 71 lost to Calivil 79. Peter McKnight 23/15, Tricia O’Shea 15/15, Pam Fraser 14/23, Charles Madgin 19/26.
Monday February 20 Midweek Pennant bowlers contested Semi Finals. It was a disappointing result for Castlemaine Division 2 and 3 which both played at Kangaroo Flat and both lost. Division 2 have another chance as they were in second place on the ladder. Next Monday they play Kangaroo Flat in the preliminary final at Golden Square. Division 3 are now finished but enjoyed the season and were happy to finish in the top four. Results were:
Division 2 Castlemaine 44 lost to Woodbury 44. Maureen Fletcher 13/21, Pam Hunter 18/21, Steve McCoombe 13/34.
Division 3 Castlemaine 44 lost to Golden Square 75. Bruce Miller 10/38, Nina Hufer 16/17, Kathy Parsons 18/20.
Club News
Girls on the Green continues Thursday evenings 30 ladies once again enjoying the friendly game of bowls and social atmosphere. Three games to go finishing on Thursday March 9.
Monday March 13 the Castlemaine Invitation Fours will be played, 9.30am start. Teams to Kevin phone 0448 916 939.
Bare Foot Bowls is starting on Wednesday March 1 at 5.30pm. Men, Ladies, Families. All welcome. This friendly competition will run for five weeks. Teams of 3 or 4 or single entries. BBQ sausage sizzle after the game. For more information or to register a team phone Alene 0439 722 423.
Pennant Teams
Teams for Saturday, February 25 are:
Division 4 Castlemaine play Golden Square at Marong at 1.30pm: Don Ross, Alan Nichols, Chris Crossley, Mal Stevens (skip). Russell Chapman, H Fleury, B Miller, Maureen Fletcher (s). L Carlin, Alicia Beauchamp, Pam Hunter, Steve McCoombe (s). Alene Jolme, Rod Fletcher, Graham Fraser, R Roberts (s).
Teams for Monday, February 27 are:
Division 2 Castlemaine Play Kangaroo Flat at Golden Square. Jack Taylor, Rod Fletcher, Chris Crossley, Maureen Fletcher (s). Alene Jolme, Alicia Beauchamp, Rosalie Roberts, Pam Hunter (s). Pat Devereaux, Graham Fraser, Tricia O’Shea, Steve McCoombe (s).
Golfers go pink to raise funds for Breast Cancer Network Australia
What a bumper week at Castlemaine Golf Club! In the Thursday Stroke Monthly Medal, Peter VerLaan (16) had an unbelievable round of nett 65 to claim the overall and B Grade prize, three shots clear of Ian Vorbach (17 & 68) who was again in the winner’s circle two weeks running.
In A Grade, Matt O’Brien (4) blasted a nett 67 to take the win on countback over Marty Beck (9 & 67). Matt’s round included 3 birdies plus an eagle on the 5th to go even par on the day.
On Saturday Barb Livingstone (21 & 19) took out the nine hole Stableford win by just one point over Dee Sansom (32 & 18). In third place was Helen McEwen (33 & 16).
In the Par Peter VerLaan did it again. Coming off a massive win on Thursday and a consequent 1 shot handicap trimming (15), Peter was unperturbed. He registered a +3 to again take out B Grade ahead of Harald Domanski (14 & 2) and the overall first position.
In A Grade, it was Harvey Zepnick (11) who recovered from a forgettable Thursday to score a +2 and claim victory once more, this time on countback over Michael Bottomley (12 & 2).
Sunday saw 51 players return to take part in the Una Carroll Fundraiser in honour of Una who lost her battle with breast cancer 31 years ago.
The women’s and overall Una Carroll Trophy winner was Dee Sansom with 36 points, runner-up on countback was Barb Livingstone with 34 points.
The visitor winner was Robyn Scoles who put together 32 points for the afternoon.
Over in the men’s competition, Jim Dimopoulos (14 & 38) capitalised on a recent form run to take out A Grade ahead of Jeremey Bottomley (7 & 36).
However, the overall and B Grade winner was, Nigel McKenzie (24 & 39) who just nudged out Kevin McIntyre (43 & 38).
Straightest drive went to Helen McEwen, Best Pink outfit Nigel Wilson, and Best Tattoo placement to Katie Scott and Nigel McKenzie.
Castlemaine Golf Club will be sending over $2000 to Breast Cancer Network Australia for their vital work right across Victoria.
The club thank their amazing sponsors for their generosity including Darren Rice of Leech’s Earthmoving, The Carroll Family, Rodilesa Nursery, Bakers Delight Castlemaine, and Paul Powell Golf Coach.
Tonight the famous Big Hole Competition is on names to Garry Moore 0414 684 201.
Comedian to wrap up FebFast events at Shedshaker Brewing
Fresh off performances at the Perth and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, Melbourne comedian Aidan Jones is set to make his return to the The Taproom at Shedshaker Brewing next Tuesday evening February 28 to wrap up Shedshaker’s FebFast calendar of events.
Aidan told the Mail he is looking forward to returning to Castlemaine with his new show.
“I received a great reception last year and I’m really looking forward to coming back. It’s such a friendly, welcoming place,” he said.
“When I last visited, I was touring with my show which was about meeting my Colombian biological father which got picked up by Amazon Prime.
“This time around I am touring with my new show ‘The Morning After’ which touches on my decision to quit drinking in 2019 which ties in really nicely with the FebFast theme,” Aidan said.
“I’ve been off the sauce for four years now. I thought that quitting drinking would solve all my problems – I was wrong. Turns out I’m still an idiot with all the same problems, but now I’m sober, so I have to solve them myself!” Aidan laughs.
“From racist computers, to humiliating photos, to being yelled at by thousands of Colombians on the internet – I could’ve used a drink, but I don’t miss the morning after,” he says.
“It’s challenging you can’t blame the drink for the dumb things you’ve done, and you can’t drink to feel better. You have to face your problems head on,” he said.
Aidan said its terrific to see more young people examining the concept of drinking and making sure if they do choose to drink, they are doing it for the right reasons.
“It’s also great to see venues like Shedshaker and Oz Non-Alcohol here in Adelaide being really progressive and offering alternatives for those who choose not to drink,” he said.
Aidan said that he enjoys sharing stories and giving people a good laugh.
“People say I can be very honest and silly, but there is always something meaningful they can take away with them,” he said.
The comedian has been on the circuit for 12 years now and is also looking forward to appearing at the upcoming Melbourne Comedy Festival and returning to the Edinburgh Fringe in August.
Join Shedshaker for a show that will keep you laughing for days. Tix are just $20 and are available at eventbrite.com.au