June 24, 2014
The South Burnett’s first-ever Arts Degustation Dinner, which drew almost 40 guests to the Wondai Hotel and Cellar on Friday night, was an outstanding success according to organisers.
The dinner was the brainchild of Wondai Regional Art Gallery curator Elaine Madill and Wondai Hotel proprietors Michael and Jessica Beohm.
“Our aim was to bring something completely new to Wondai,” Elaine said.
“We wanted to have an event that combined great food, great wine and great entertainment with the arts, then open it up to anyone who wanted to come along so they could have a really fun night out and see what all these things were about.
“Our monthly openings at the Wondai Gallery are very popular and usually attract large crowds but they don’t provide quite the same opportunity to relax and unwind that a good dinner does.”
With very little publicity, the event sold out within a few weeks of being announced and guests were treated to what one described as “one of the most memorable evenings we’ve seen in Wondai so far this year”.
Entertainer Tom McCahon, recently returned to the region after a six-year absence, kept the mood upbeat with a compelling mix of light-hearted comedy and extracts from popular operas that drew repeated waves of applause from the crowd.
Waitresses ferried the dinner’s five courses to tables set up in the hotel’s dining and mezzanine areas, accompanied by a hand-selected range of wines drawn from the hotel’s cellars.
Imbil metal artist Christopher Hardwick, who has had some of his artworks on display at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery this month, was the evening’s special guest.
He asked guests to draw a house, a river and a snake on a sheet of paper, then used everyone’s efforts to illustrate that art has been a part of human nature ever since humans evolved.
Far from being something rarified and only open to a select few, he said art was something that’s open to anyone, and capable of being enjoyed by everyone, too.
The evening also featured a silent auction of some of Wondai’s “pole art” pieces which are mounted around the town on special display boards and changed periodically.
Hosts Michael and Jessica Beohm said they were very pleased everyone had enjoyed the night so much.
“We hope to run more events like this in future,” they said.
“They’re a lot of work, but seeing everyone have such a great time really makes it all worthwhile.”
The hotel’s next big function will be a special dinner in October to launch this year’s South Burnett and Cherbourg On Show long weekend festival.
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