Wild Spark Ladies Day – Brookfield QLD 2019

Well goodness, it is hard to believe that it has been 1 whole month since our Wild Spark Ladies Day in Brookfield. I honestly have no idea where the year has gone but somehow we are nearly half way through November. I feel like I have started every single blog post like this in 2019 but it has just disappeared before my very eyes.

What a year it has been. Ed and I have worked super hard with Wild Spark and I think it has definitely paid off. Our Wild Spark Ladies Day in Brookfield, Brisbane – on 12 October – was a sell out, we had 100 ladies in attendance and definitely could not have fit another person in. It was absolutely amazing. Beyond all of our wildest dreams. A massive thank you to all the gorgeous women who came along, we are so glad you did!

The day was all about bridging the city/country divide and connecting & inspiring women.

I remember sitting at the Brookfield General Store, sipping wine one night with Ed around this time last year, and I said to her how much I loved the Brookie Hall. I said “Ed, I am picturing a ladies lunch in there one day – a Wild Spark Ladies Lunch – imagine that!”…. next minute there we were – up to our eyeballs in tables, chairs, decorations, collecting hired goods and setting up for that very lunch we dreamed about. It really was more than we had ever imagined.

Local Brookfield lady – Alli Dart transformed the entrance to the hall – doesn’t it look terrific. Alli donated her time to do this and let me tell you it took her a long time and she wasn’t even coming to the lunch as she had already committed to another one. Thanks Alli!

Beautifully dressed ladies sipping champagne on arrival, laughing and catching up. Thanks so much to Sci-Fleet Toyota for sponsoring our welcome drinks!

Pop up shops, guest speakers…

Panda Pearls were a hit, I mean hello – you had me at pearls and bubbles!

Of course a Wild Spark event wouldn’t be the same without our good friend Kirsten from Bettyquette. She has been with us from the very start.

Amanda from Sunday Cowgirl has also been with us from the very beginning and we are so thankful that she has. Not only did she have a fabulous pop up shop but she was also our chief Tech Officer. Amanda worked tirelessly to put together the slide show and our guest speakers presentations, we would be nothing without her. We can’t thank you enough Amanda. Oh and yes – those bags just walked out the door, the ladies loved them.

Kelli is another Wild Spark gang member who has been with us from the very first event when she came up to Mt Isa to help Amanda with the Sunday Cowgirl stall. We love seeing your happy face Kel and couldn’t do it without you (Amanda on the left and Kel on the Right)…

Nikki from Styling You The Label was also at our very first event in Mt Isa and we were so happy to have her along to Brookfield. Nikki has helped me so much with my blog and with starting Wild Spark, she is so generous with her time and always answers my questions, not matter how silly they are. Thanks Nikki!

Gorgeous Joanie from Snippit Designs (second from the left below) also had a pop up shop.

Joanie worked tirelessly doing lots of embroidery work for us and don’t the boys look smashing in their Wild Spark aprons. These young men gave up their time to come and run the bar and help out in general, thanks so much guys…

My gorgeous friend and neighbour – Shelly Hawkins from Trek West Tailored Hiking Tours was our first speaker. Shell is an inspirational woman doing amazing things from her remote cattle station in North West Queensland – including starting her own trekking business. I admire this women so much and never get sick of seeing her happy face.

Our second guest speaker is another rural woman doing wonderful things from her remote sheep and cattle station just out of Longreach. Joy McClymont is the founder of Off The Track Training. Joy has formed a massive community helping women be the best they can be no matter where they live (and that is what we too are all about here at Wild Spark). Joy is a personal trainer, helping women and men get fit and healthy from their homes. You don’t need fancy equipment, she is all about keeping it real.

The ladies enjoyed a sit down lunch of smoked brisket, chicken and salads. We are so grateful to Five Founders for sponsoring the lunch and supplying the beef. Greg and Taryn from Dusty Moose did such a great job with the catering. The afternoon finished with a grazing table which was so kindly put together by the lovely Phillipa Devlin, what a little pocket rocket she is – we can’t thank you enough for all your help Phillipa. Each lady took home a fabulous little gift bag full of goodies. We even had a boutique gin bar with a Wild Spark gin cocktail thanks to Alpen Liquor.

James from The North Australian Pastoral Company dropped in to say a few words about their new branded beef – Five Founders – Australia’s first carbon neutral beef.

Our day was a fundraiser for Rare Cancers Australia and we could not be happier with the money this fine group of women raised. $7,000!!!! Wow!

We were also thankful to have Nikki Kerr from Rare Cancers Australia fly up from NSW to attend the day. Nikki spoke to us and we were all touched by her story and honesty of losing her husband to a rare form of cancer. The work you are doing with RCA is really something else and you are helping so many families. Well done!

There were quite a few other ladies in attendance who have been directly affected by a rare cancer or currently have a rare form of cancer. These ladies were inspirational and we can’t thank them enough for coming along, it was just such a pleasure to meet you. Meeting these ladies certainly made all the hard work worth it.

Ed worked tirelessly sourcing items for our live auction which was held on the day thanks to Michael Devlin from Moore Estate Agents. He sure did liven up the ladies and get them in the bidding mood. What fun it was and gosh there were some amazing items up for grabs. Thank you to all of the businesses who donated items for the Auction, you helped us raise $7,000 for Rare Cancers Australia and I think that is an amazing effort.

Our beautiful flowers on each table were so very kindly donated by Francesca’s Flowers. What a lovely lady. Francesca is a Miss Chardy reader and when she saw we were holding a ladies day in Brookfield she approached me to see if there was anything she could help with. The flowers were stunning Francesca and looked so perfect on each table. Thanks a million.

All in all it was just a fabulous day of fun and laughter. I hugged and met so many women who were all very appreciative to attend such a lunch. I knew Brookfield was a lovely little community, a bit like a small country town really but I was just blown away by the help and support so many local ladies gave us. Giving up their time to help us set up and organise things without us even asking, it was really something else. Thanks so much to all of the ladies who helped us – yes I am looking at you Cath Fullerton and Phillipa Devlin!

It was also a bit of a family affair. Ed’s husband – Rob – and children Harry & Charlotte were there helping out and supporting us, and even her brother Rick. My older boys – Tom and Harry come out from boarding school to give us a hand too. It was so beautiful to have our family there with us. Ed’s Mum – Ros – also flew up from Sydney to attend. We certainly couldn’t have done it without you all!

A massive thank you to everyone who supported or came along to our day, we are so very grateful to you all and can’t wait to do it all over again in 2020!

A special thank you to our major sponsors of the day: Sci-Fleet Toyota, Five Founders, Sunday Cowgirl, Off the Track Training, Trek West Tailored Hiking Tours, Burnbrae Wines, Brisbane Barrel Hire, The Brookfield Show Society & The Brookfield Long Lunch. Our day would not have been possible without your support.

PHOTO CREDIT: Most of the pics you see in this post were taken by Andrew Jarvie from Life Portraits and Suzy Perry from Pretty Ponies Equestrian Photography. They both gave up their day and came along free of charge to photograph our event, your generosity is really something else. Thanks so much Andrew & Suzy the pictures are amazing.