On Saturday 28th August we hosted our very first Wild Spark marquee at the Camooweal Races. We hoped to do this last year but covid put a stop to that so we were very excited to finally manage it this year. The Wild Spark marquee was a ticketed event, where racegoers could base themselves, dressed to the nines, enjoy a welcome glass of bubbly, grazing boxes throughout the day and have access to our amazing bar stocked full of bubbly, Pinot Gris, rosé, beer and a couple of cheeky cocktails – cosmopolitans and espresso martini’s. I mean what is not to love about all of that?! With around 100 people we are calling it a massive success and it is only onwards and upwards from here.
A day like this is definitely not possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Camooweal is a remote tiny town on the NT/QLD boarder so definitely not close to hire facilities. The marquee and all of the hire gear came across from Townsville – about a 1,000km drive away which of course is very costly. In order to keep ticket prices affordable we definitely needed to find some sponsors. A massive thank you to all of our sponsors…
Northern Rural Group, Ridley, The North Australian Pastoral Company and Mitech were our major sponsors and very generous indeed.
As our guests entered the marquee they were welcomed by Ed and our dapper bore runner – Andrew, and handed a glass of bubbles. Welcome drinks were so generously sponsored by Trek West Tailored Hiking Tours.
Shelly from Trek West has supported us from the very beginning and is definitely part of the Wild Spark gang. We love you Shell.
We were so thrilled with how well the day went and have been invited back again next year. I can see this becoming a much anticipated date on the social calendar. The races are part of the Camooweal Drovers Festival which is a fabulous weekend held each year. The races are always the 4th Saturday in August so put it in your diaries for next year. Pack up the caravan, dust off the tent or bring a swag – did someone say road trip? What a great chance to visit our wonderful corner of Australia. It really is a fun weekend. We all camped at the grounds in caravans, horse floats, tents or swags. Accommodation is very limited in Camooweal and books out very quickly.
So you need to start planning for 2022 NOW!!! I mean the photos speak for themselves… this was our day…
Look, this is our Mittiebah family – aren’t they just lovely, such a great bunch. We were just missing Jed and Lisa who stayed back at the station to look after things there (and of course Tom, Harry & Clancy!!)…
And here is our family next door (although in a whole different state) – they are also our family up here, this is Shelly & Clint and the Herbertvale gang…
And here are the Herbertvale/Hawkins boys plus Stretch and Mr Chardy…
Thank you to Amanda from Sunday Cowgirl for sponsoring the prize for Contemporary Lady Fashions on the Field – Amanda has been a huge supporter of Wild Spark from the very beginning and we were so sad she couldn’t be there on the day. The winner was absolutely stunning and loves loves loves her new Jilly handbag. On a side note I have this very handbag and always receive compliments, I truly love it, such a great size, the handles are super comfy and it fits my 16 inch laptop in it.
Another massive supporter of Wild Spark is Kirsten from Bettyquette, she has also been with us from the very beginning. The stylish winner of the Classic Lady Fashions on the Field walked away with a Bettyquette gift pack valued at over $250.00. Thanks so much Kirsten – maybe you will become a super sexy camping lady and join us next year!!!!
I can see the Fashions on the Field at Camooweal Races becoming a real draw card for our stylish men and women. Our good friend Kaz (one of our favourite Wild Spark’s) won the Millinery section…
Oh did I mention one minor detail… we didn’t actually have horses racing at Camooweal. Qld racing made a last minute decision about the safety of the track and they were told the horses would race in Mt Isa. Because we are a resilient community we didn’t let this minor detail hold us back. While the horses raced in Mt Isa we all still enjoyed the festivities of the race day at Camooweal. There was a pantomime race and also…. Gold Fish Races. It was a lot of fun and I think it has been decided that the gold fish races may well become a fixture each year. Let’s all cross our fingers and hope that the track will be ok for next year. Weekends like these are very important to small communities such as ours and losing race meetings like this can be devastating.
Ed and I love hosting our Wild Spark events but this one was next level. We certainly love to overcommit and are generally a 2 man band – it is just Ed and I. We do have quite a few people who help out and support us where they can but essentially it is just the two of us. Ed was also missing in action from May to July this year while she was Shelly’s offsider at Trek West Tailored Hiking Tours… so it was just me doing the behind the scenes work. Ed kept saying she felt so bad that she had not been any help but I kept assuring her that she would make up for it at the actual event. We are a great team, I love the behind the scenes work but I need Ed to swoop in when it is all happening and clean up the mess that I often make… when the shit hits the fan Ed is there to sort things out and take control when I have turned into a bride-zilla. Let’s just say that she definitely made up for it at this event, it felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong… but we are resilient and we soldiered on… thanks to the help of a massive team of helpers from the surrounding stations and town – yes I am looking at you Tina, Chuggy, Tonnogato and crew from Rocklands and of course Dan, Shelly & Clint Hawkins… we couldn’t have done this without you. Dan you were there everyday to talk me off the ledge and put a smile on our faces. We can’t thank you enough. Turns out hosting an event like this is A LOT OF WORK. Like Ed always says – “if it were easy everyone would be doing it” and she is so right, but we just love doing it and what doesn’t kill us definitely makes us stronger. Thank god we just say yes and figure it out later or we would never do it. Overcommit we say!
Ed’s Son, Harry and his partner Claire, also travelled up, from Brisbane, to help out. We could not have done this without them. Harry and Claire ran the bar for us and were flat out pouring cosmo’s and espresso martini’s until they ran out. They were a huge hit. I definitely think they need to come back next year and be our permanent Wild Spark helpers! What fun. Thanks so much to the both of you for all of your help.
All of our beautiful photos were taken by Eloise from Eloise Moir Photography. Thanks so much for capturing our day.
Our grazing boxes were from Little T Creative in Mt Isa. Kimberley and her team did a wonderful job and even hand delivered them all the way to Camooweal.
Well I guess it is time to take a little breather and get back to life as normal. We will see you all in Camooweal for the 2022 races!! Start planning your trip now. We can’t wait.
Once again, thank you to all of our sponsors. We really appreciate your support.
Loved reading this! What an epic day you put on for everyone. And you never know, I might just rock up next year with my swag!!