Sunday, July 27, 2014

Night of Stars



Exhausted is how I would describe the pair of us today.  We had a tremendous evening at the gondola masquerade awards last night in Griffith.  Sleep and recovery however, was sadly lacking as we had to drive back early to Lockhart to open up the cafe and serve our customers.  Phew!  But it was worth the trip and all the effort put in entering the Inland Tourism Awards.  This may just be the start of something for us.  It certainly feels like we have taken a new direction and meeting all the people last night was like being welcomed into a group of like-minded friends.  We were nervous at the start of the evening but by the end, felt like we were celebrating along with others working hard in the tourism industry.

So how did we go?  As you know we were among the hopeful finalists in the Heritage and Cultural Tourism category.  We know that there were many others who never made it that far and felt proud to be considered for the award alongside the likes of Yanga National Park and Nundle Woollen Mill (a previous winner).  The competition was strong and the winner of the overall category was Yanga National Park but we won a special award of our own, one quite unique to the evening.  The Blue Bird Cafe proudly won the Encouragement Award, presented to us as a first time entrant just starting out on the journey.  We were advised that this award is not given out often but it recognises future potential and the integrity of a good tourism product.  We feel honoured therefore that we have the industry's faith in us and that we have been able to stand beside some outstanding businesses and multiple award winners.  It is an inspiration for us to go further next year.  Watch this space.

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