The Weekly Times - TWT - 26th September 2018

Wednesday 26 September, 2018 THE WEEKLY TIMES 7
WT Granny Smith Festival Queen Quest
AB PRIZES
O WIN!
2018 TWT Miss Eastwood Granny
mith Festival Queen will share $10,000
rizes including $1,000 First Prize couresy
Eastwood Shopping Centre.
She will star in this year’s Granny Smith Festival
rand Parade through Eastwood on Saturday Ocober
20 along with the other Grand Finalists who
ill share prizemoney and other valuable prizes.
The winner will serve as The Weekly Times and
astwood Shopping Centre Ambassador for the
ear with the opportunity to meet and greet many
mportant and VIP people during her reign.
Entry is free and open to all young ladies sixteen
ears of age and over on October 20, 2018.
NTER NOW
To enter simply fill in the coupon on this page
nd enclose a recent photo and send to: TWT
ranny Smith Festival Queen Quest, PO Box 123
yde 1680 or email full details to: contacus@
eeklytimes.com.au
Numbers are limited so contestants are adised
to enter this week so as not to be disapointed.
Judging with a panel of judges is Wednesday
ctober 10 from 4pm and Gala Presentation is
n Eastwood Shopping Centre Saturday October
3 at 11am.
o harmony on
name change
Granny Smith Festival 2018
- Eastwood Saturday October 20
The City of Ryde has
renamed the Council’s
Harmony Committee
the Multicultural
Committee but the
new name has not impressed
the council’s
Liberal Party leader Clr
Sarkis Yedian OAM.
Councillor Yedelian was
absent from last Tuesday
night’s meeting that approved
the name change,
which reflects some community
concerns the word
“harmony” suggests community
disunity.
Committee member Clr
Yedelian told The Weekly
Times the new name fails
to reflect the range of the
work the committee does
or the importance of this
work.
“This is not just about
multiculturalism, we have
worked hard to fight discrimination
based on gender
and religion and many
other forms of discrimination
that leads to disharmony,”
he said.
“And I’m very upset that
this name change was
passed without consultation
with the community
and with the whole community.”
Councillor Yedelian is the
Chair of Ryde’s Multicultural
Centre and said the
Centre was not consulted,
despite being the first organisition
to support the
City of Ryde’s recent antiracism
campaign.
“I was the first councillor
to move the motion to establish
the harmony committee
and the many reasons
why we established it
and named it the harmony
committee were put to
the council and put to the
community at the time,” he
said.
2017 TWT Miss Eastwood Granny Smith Festival Queen Grand Finalists received their prizes at a gala presentation in centre
court of Eastwood Shopping Centre after the Grand Parade and Festival official opening. Eastwood Shopping Centre’s Ray
Khoury presented cheques of $1,000, $500 and $250 to 2017 Queen Jane Meney, First Runner-up Natalie Hissey and Second
Brunner-up Abby Hill while all Grand Finalists including Jennifer Shillabeer and Kate Gosnell received valuable prizes including
$150 each from the Hayman Family in memory of their mother Kathleen Hayman. Also pictured front row 2016 Festival
Queen Rachel Monck, 2016 TWT Gladesville Teen Queen Charlotte Cosgrove and Ryde Councillor Chris Moujalli. Back row,
l to r, master of ceremonies Stephen Sim, Bennelong MP John Alexander OAM, Clr Sarkis Yedelian OAM, Clr Trenton Brown,
Epping MP Damien Tudehope, Chris Gryllis great friend of Ryde and former Deputy Mayor of Orange, Festival chairman
De’ann Hespe, Clr Jordan Lane, Orange City Councillor Russell Turner, Edna Wilde OAM, Clr Simon Zhou, Nicolas Bahles and
TWT managing editor John F Booth AM. TWT on-the-spot PHOTO.
Festival celebrates 150 years
of Granny Smith’s apples
This year’s Granny Smith Festival celebrates 150 years
since the first Granny Smith apple was grown on the
farm property of Granny Smith at what is now called
Eastwood.
The first known Granny Smith apple was grown in 1868 on the
farm of Maria Ann “Granny” Smith which is now commemorated
with the Granny Smith Memorial Park in Threlfall Street Eastwood.
Granny Smith is buried
in St Anne’s church Ryde
where she was a regular
worshipper with her family
who are also buried in
the church graveyard.
This year’s festival
promises to be bigger
and better than ever with
a wide range of free entertainment
for all the
family.
Highlights will include:
GRAND STREET PA-
RADE with more than
2,000 people participating
including 2018
TWT Festival Queen and
Queen Quest 2018
Grand Finalists in veteran
and vintage cars plus
marching bands, community
floats and dancers.
GRANNY SMITH CI-
DER BAR located at
West Parade will provide
festival goers the
chance to take a break
and sit back sampling
delicious beverages and
listening to some acoustic
tunes.
FINALE CONCERT
starting at 5.30pm on the
lower Eastwood oval will
feature ARIA award winning
singer Samantha
Jade along with popular
cover band Soul Nights
capped off with a spectacular
fireworks display.
In addition there will
be more than 200 stalls,
a singing competition
conducted by Roseanna
Gallo OAM, and performances
throughout the
day at four of the festival
stages.
Next Festival Committee
meeting chaired
De’ann Hespe is
Wednesday October 10
at 8am in the Eastwood
CWA rooms.
Eastwood Community News
Eastwood Tai Chi
celebrates 10 years
By JUSTIN LI*
Over the weekend, the Eastwood Tai Chi group
celebrated their 10thanniversary at a lunch attended
by members and special guests.
What first began as just a small gathering of
Eastwood locals 10 years ago, the group has
grown rapidly and now fills the whole Plaza each
morning.
Today, it is hard to imagine Eastwood without
their graceful movements and music.
In 2009, the group received Ryde Council’s official
approval to use the Plaza for their activities.
The group was also instrumental in convincing
Ryde Council to make Eastwood Plaza smokefree
in 2015.
Led by Master Zhang (one of the big mural faces
on the walls of Eastwood Library), the group attracts
participants from all corners of Sydney.
Their activities are free and the group welcomes
peoples from all cultures and all ages (including
beginners).
As attendeesof the group will tell everybody,
practicing Tai Chi regularly has enormous health
benefits.
If for no other reason to give it a try, practitioners
are often mistaken for being 10 years younger
than their real age!
*JUSTIN LI is a former Ryde Councillor and is
editor of Humans of Eastwood