Yowah Opal Festival 2004The wind was cold…an Antarctic cold front! The Yowah opal was glorious…rare and intriguing Yowah nuts on display. The huge bonfire warmed all those brave enough to gather to celebrate the wondrous Yowah opal. The design contest provided beauteous opal jewelry to behold. I built a diorama in miniature of a miner's camp for a display complete with bottle of beer sitting next to the cracking heap, wild goat, and a dunny. The magnificent opals on display from the miners' private collections was a sight to make any opalholic drool. The Arts and Crafts tent featured their theme "Skin" and displayed paintings of custard with skin, a genuine snakeskin nude, nudes,and photography of glorious tree trunk bark to mention only a few. Artist Belle Starr, otherwise known as Naomi Lawlis of Santa Fe, painted the boot(trunk) door of a car. The scene depicted an opal buyer coming to town with his money wagon in tow too late for the skeletal remains of an miner with sign clutched in his hand reading,"Opal for Sale" They auctioned that door as one of the "Yowah Doors" a tradition to raise money to help cover costs of festival promotion. Internationatol travelers rubbed elbows with Aussies from the big cities come to have fun in the Outback Yowah style If you are in the vicinity of Australia…..
This year's Yowah Opal Festival 15th - 17th July 2005
The Opal Festival begins Friday at 6.30pm (Queensland time) with the Miners' BBQ and Official Opening, followed by two full days of activities on Saturday and Sunday.
Special Guests, Entertainment, Meals and Refreshments throughout the FestivalLicenced Bar Special Opal Display Walk in mine toursWindlass RaceTailgaters and Stalls
Breakfast: Saturday and Sunday morning from 7.30amSaturday night 3 course Meal, Singer and DiscoFinish Sunday NightEntertainment & Dancing
Stall bookings: Eddie Maguire Email: ed.ojai.yowah@bigpond.com Thanks to Opalhut.com for the current 2005 festival information.
Major Opal Addict
Me shoveling 70 feet below ground into my rickshaw.
About Me
- Parched Earth Opals
- Mayer, Arizona, United States
- I hunt for treasure and I find it in wild, rough as guts, crazy places. The booty I have unearthed includes gems, gold, and big oil pipeline paychecks. I have worked with the crackle of the Aurora Borealis overhead and the crunch of Arctic ice beneath my feet. For the last twenty-five years, I have mined opals below ground and camped beneath the Australian sky. This considerably skewed my city girl perspective of life. Because I lived without electricity 6 months out of the year for so many years, I had plenty of time to observe, write, and cartoon the saga of the thrilling side of my dual life. I am Barbara McCondra, mother, teacher, commercial real estate agent, Arctic oilfield worker, Aussie opal miner, gem dealer, and freelance writer/lecturer. I live with one foot each in two hemispheres. When I am asked, “How did you DO that?” I always respond,” If I dress it, speak it, and walk it, I become it,” Simple and exciting. My life is a perpetual adventure. I love it.
