Jeremy Bourke
The Australian

Several things strike me on my visit to Bundaberg Rum Distillery; we’ll get to the aroma in a minute.

Looking to escape the wintery blues? With amazing fresh produce ripe and ready for the picking and our temperate climate, this time of year you'll want to spend most of your time outdoors, where the sun is shining and our region's events are sparking up our lives like little fireworks wherever you look. Check out this bursting events calendar and come and celebrate with us this winter.

Victoria might have the event that stops the nation, but closer to home we have the event that stops the Bruce Highway for a whole day. Welcome to the Childers festival, which has grown into a four day extravaganza, celebrating local wine and food, historical tours, sugar cane fires, arts, and lots of music with both local and visiting artists (hello, Kate Cebrano!) and even an opera by the lake. 

Enjoy a long dinner at a local winery, take a bus tour to visit the sugar mill and watch a cane fire burn bright against the dark sky, meander through the main street learning about those who have paved the way before us on these very streets and then enjoy the main event - festival day with food, music and entertainment roving the main street of Childers. Meet you there!

How does a business banker turn into one of the best organic sourdough bakers in the Wide Bay region? Passion, enthusiasm and absolute dedication to creating one of the best handcrafted sourdough bakehouses to be found near or far.