Bankstown Bites was a great success with a large crowd of residents and visitors attending our food festival on Saturday. I was pleased to officially open the event which is now in its 6th year. This Festival is a great showcase of the variety of cuisine we have available within our city along with the many cafes, restaurants and fresh produce stores in our CBD. Our celebrity chef cooking demonstrations proved very popular, especially those by Miguel Mastre and Antonios Chayna. Thank you to our sponsors (The Torch, Bankstown Sports, Bankstown RSL, Oriental Merchants, Revesby Workers Club and Canterbury-Bankstown Express) for their support of the festival. I also acknowledge the various stallholders, restaurants, grocers, community groups, performers and volunteers who all contributed to the success of Bankstown Bites. Councillors Khal Asfour and Alex Kuskoff were amongst those enjoying the festivities.
Tickets are now selling for the 2010 Mayoral Charity Dinner being held on Friday 27 August at Bankstown Sports. Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital is the recipient of this year’s Dinner and funds raised on the night will be used by the Hospital to purchase additional medical equipment. Tickets are $85 and I encourage you to support our local Hospital by booking a table for the event. A raffle and auction will also be held on the night. For enquiries or bookings, contact the Mayor's Office on 9707 9523.
On Friday night I was pleased to join Punchbowl Boys High for the official opening of their first annual Visual Arts Exhibition at the Bankstown Campus of the University of Western Sydney. The exhibition features a number of impressive works by the students which will remain on display until Thursday 19 August at the Margot Hardy Gallery. Congratulations to Principal Jihad Dib, the teachers and all the students involved.
Later that evening I was pleased to attend a dinner in recognition of the achievements of Samah Hadid. Samah was selected as this year’s Youth Representative in Australia’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In this role, Samah will be required to act as an advocate at the UN for the views and ideals of young people across Australia. Samah's selection is a remarkable achievement and we wish her all the best in her endeavours. Minister Barbara Perry MP and Helen Westwood MP were amongst the guests.
Last Tuesday I visited Birrong Girls High School for a special assembly where I presented Lisa Mohamadi with her prize for winning the Creative Writing section in the 2010 NAIDOC Week School Initiative Competition. The competition is coordinated by the organisation, Koori Kids, and aims to promote NAIDOC Week and awareness of indigenous culture. Congratulations Lisa.