HSA Festival 2007 - Warragul, Victoria, AUSTRALIA

July 6 - 8, 2007

Please visit the Baw Baw Shire Council website for accommodation options.

DATES - Friday 6th, Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th July, 2007.

VENUE - St. Paul's Anglican Grammar School Gymnasium, 150 Bowen Street, Warragul, Victoria 3820 AUSTRALIA.

COST - HSA Members $150; Non Members $170.  This will cover all meals except breakfast from Friday night supper to Sunday lunch and music for the massed ringing.

MUSIC - Please bring your own music for items other than the massed ringing.

EQUIPMENT - Each group must supply their own bells, or chimes and also their own foam mats.  If you feel it is impossible for you to bring your own mats, please let us know and we will arrange to get some for you, however, this will incur an additional charge.  Tables will be provided.

ACCOMMODATION - All participants will need to arrange their own accommodation.  Please click on the Baw Baw Shire website link above for different options.  Please book early as Victoria has school holidays during the first two weeks in July.

Please send your applications by the 31st March, with a 20% deposit to (the balance is due by 31st May 2007):

Mrs Pat Dent
Festival Registrar
West Gippsland Glockenspielers Inc.
333 Normanby Street
Warragul, Victoria 3820
AUSTRALIA

If you have not received an application form by regular post, please email Pat - cpdent@dcsi.net.au

November 21, 2006

Dear Fellow Bellringers,

I am writing on behalf of the Glockenspielers, Warragul Rural City and the Shire of Baw Baw, inviting you to the HSA 2007 Annual Festival.  The venue for the Festival is to be St. Paul's Anglican Grammar School.  SPAGS is a new co-educational school and has excellent facilities for hosting an event such as the HSA Festival.  Unfortunately, the school has no residential facilities but, fortunately, there is excellent accommodation reasonably close to the school.

The theme we have adopted for the 2007 Festival is "Winter in Baw Baw".  The Shire takes its name from Mt. Baw Baw that is located in the Baw Baw National Park.  This NP forms the start of the great Nature Trail that follows the Great Dividing Range northwards to Far North Queensland.

Warragul in winter can get quite cold and we advise you to have plenty of warm clothing with you.  However, the venue itself will be comfortably warm and all places of accommodation are well heated.

For those of you who may be tempted to partake of a short skiing holiday, either before or after the Festival, we can advise you that Baw Baw NP, as well as nearby Mt. St. Gwinnear, have enjoyable skiing, both down hill and cross country (Langlauf).  There is comfortable accommodation on the mountain and also a full ski equipment hire service.  There is a public transport service to and from Warragul and the NP.  Please note that of all the southern ski resorts Baw Baw is the cheapest!

For the less energetically inclined there is much of historical interest in close vicinity.

The Baw Baw Shire is very generously supporting the Festival.  The Shire is going to produce a specially printed programme for the Festival and the Sunday afternoon concert.  For this to happen it is essential that we have information from you, especially from choir/team leaders/directors, and we need this requested information in plenty of time.  The earlier the better in fact.  We can appreciate the fact that you may not as yet have finally decided on what you will be ringing, but please note that we have set a deadline for receipt of the requested information - March 31, 2007.

We will not be sending any reminder notices and printing will go ahead minus the missing information.  And that will be sad all round!

Requested information:

1.  Names of all ringers.
2.  Titles of music you will be performing for Rally Ringing.
3.  Title of music you will perform at the Sunday afternoon concert.
4.  A short history of your choir and where your home is etc.  (No longer than 1 paragraph please).

I thank you in anticipation of the above.

In order to assist us make the Festival a success for all participants it will greatly help if we have knowledge of the following:

1.  Do you have a particular piece of music you would like to be considered for the Massed Ringing?
2.  Is there a particular topic you would like to see run as a workshop?
3.  Will you volunteer to conduct Massed Ringing?

We reserve the right to select but will make every endeavour to fulfill requests.

Please will each choir select one of their members to participate in ringing the "Opening Chord" at the opening ceremony on the Friday evening.

NEW ZEALANDERS:  Please will you arrange for one of your choirs to ring the NZ National Anthem at the opening ceremony?  Do the Maori people have their own flag as do the Indigenous Australians?  If they do, please will you advise us.

As you will appreciate, it is still "Early Days" and we are far from finalising details but, in order to assist you with your own planning for the Festival, we offer the following on a tentative basis only:

Friday 6/7/07:
3pm - Registration opens.  On completion of registration, choirs may move to their allotted tables and begin setting up.
8.30pm - Opening Ceremony by the Mayor of Baw Baw.  After the completion of the opening ceremony - Socialising and Supper.

Saturday 7/7/07:
8am - Start.  All morning workshops, massed ringing practise and rally ringing.
12pm - Lunch.
1pm - Afternoon to continue as per the morning activities.
6pm - Dinner.
7.30pm - Annual General Meeting.  At the conclusion of the AGM, Rally Ringing and socialising.

Sunday 8/7/07:
8am - Start.  The mornings activities will in part be determined by the numbers wishing to ring at church services.
12pm - Lunch.
2.30pm - Sunday Afternoon Concert - open to the public.  At the conclusion of the concert, a light afternoon tea will be available to which the audience will be invited - primarily with the object of being able to meet and talk with the ringers.  With luck, we might even gain a recruit or two!

Dear reader - I must stress that at this time (21/7/06) the above timetable is only tentative and is offered only as a guide.  It is open to modification until the start of the Festival.

TO COMPLY WITH THE MUCH STRICTER COPYRIGHT LAWS THERE WILL BE NO PHOTOCOPYING FACILITIES AT THE VENUE.  WE WILL HAVE AN AUSTRALIAN PERFORMING RIGHTS LICENSE FOR THE FESTIVAL.  PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR MUSIC COMPLIES WITH THE LAW.

Music for massed ringing will be sent only after we have received your registration.

Buses:  At the time of writing we are looking into the possibility of organising a shuttle bus service between accommodation and SPAGS.  You will have to watch the Herald and HSA Website to keep abreast of developments in this area.

Useful Contacts:

Convenor - Peter Richards
Address:  "Worragalla", RMB 2865, Ferndale, Via Warragul, Victoria 3820 AUSTRALIA.
Phone:  (03) 5659 5209
Email:  convenor@handbells.org.au

Secretary - Dawn Cheer
Address:  4 Alder Place, Warragul, Victoria 3820 AUSTRALIA.
Phone:  (03) 5623 6107
Email:  castell72@bigpond.com

Registrar/Treasurer - Pat Dent
Address:  333 Normanby Street, Warragul, Victoria 3820 AUSTRALIA.
Phone:  (03) 5622 3719
Email:  cpdent@dcsi.net.au

In conclusion, may I take this opportunity to wish you many happy hours of ringing and to say how much we look forward to meeting you at the 2007 Festival.

Yours Most Sincerely,
Peter Richards
Convenor
2007 HSA Festival

Webmaster:  Drew Sullivan - webmaster@handbells.org.au