What's on and things to do around the Central West region and beyond

Join the Dubbo District Concert Band on Sunday, November 19, for an afternoon of musical magic with their end of year concert to be held in the Dubbo RSL auditorium. The theme of this entertaining afternoon is music from around the world. Doors open at 1.30pm, showtime 2pm. Entry is $5 at the door.

Experience the adrenaline of sprintcar racing on Saturday, November 25, when Morris Park Speedway will come alive with an action-packed night of racing. Food and drink available on site. This is an alcohol free event, from 6pm. Tickets $5-$55 online at 123tix.

The Garden Hotel, the Fishing Club and Macquarie Cricket Club invite you to a Charity Auction to raise funds for the Pink Angels providing support for breast cancer patients throughout the Central West of NSW. Event starts at 4pm and the live auction starts at 7pm. Tickets are $30 via 123tix and includes glass of bubbles/beer on arrival, finger food and a ticket in the lucky door prize. Wear pink, and enjou music provided by JJ's Band.

Held the first and third Saturday of every month, the next Dubbo Farmers Market is Saturday, November 18. A range of seasonal fresh produce, fresh fruit and vegetables, herbs and plants, as well as fresh bread, meats, award-winning olive oils, preserves, jams, marinates, honey, wine, nuts and more. From 8am to noon. Macquarie Lions Park.

The Dubbo Rotunda Market showcases local and regional fresh produce and home-made arts and crafts. Food, coffee, produce, baking, condiments, handmade goods and unique recycled vintage wares. The venue is Macquarie Street, on the first Sunday of the month. Next date is December 3, from 8am-1pm.

The Show, a distinctly Australian event, is more than just an agricultural festival promoting farming and produce, it offers a blend of entertainment, commerce, and education that celebrates our rural and regional communities. More Australian's visit their local show each year than any other single event. In 2023, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Dubbo Show with an exhibition that explores its history and significance. Curated by Simone Taylor, the exhibition is on display at Western Plains Cultural Centre until May 5, 2024.

The 15-hectare Mayfield Garden is open every day, except Christmas Day and Boxing Day, from 9am until 4.30pm. Final Garden entry is at 3pm. Your garden entry ticket is valid for the date issued only. Children aged under 5 years are admitted free of charge. Immerse yourself in the beauty of Mayfield, explore captivating gardens and create memories that will last a lifetime. Book at mayfieldgarden.com.au/book-garden.

Dubbo greyhounds in November

Enjoy the dogs racing on 18, 25, 27, from 5pm. There will be 12 races in total each night. Full bar/canteen and eftpos facilities available along with on-course TAB. Bring the family as there is a jumping castle for the kids. Entry - Adults $7.50; Pensioners $5; Children under-16 free. Dawson Park Greyhound Track.

On the fourth Saturday of every month at Cameron Park, Wellington, from 8am to 1pm (Sep - May) and 9am to 1pm (June - Aug). Try the best breakfast burgers in the region, sensational steak sandwiches and snags. Drop in for coffee and beverages, fresh fruit and veg, artisan soaps and beauty products, kids toys, clothing household items and collectables. Next one is on Saturday, November 25.

Harness Racing in Dubbo has been running since the 1890's attracting trainers across the central west and beyond. Come and watch the horses race under the ribbon of lights on Tuesday November 21, 28 and Friday, November 24; December Tuesdays 5, 12, 19, 26, and Fridays December 8, 15 - all from 6pm.

Dubbo Golf Club: Sippin' Sundays, 3pm-7pm - November - 19 - Jo Hyndes; 26 - Chloe Swannell.

South Dubbo Tavern: 8.30pm-11.30pm Fridays, Saturdays, and 6pm - 9pm Sundays - November dates - 18 - Duncan Ferguson; 19 - John Wood; 24 - Jo Hyndes; 25 - Paul McMillan; 26 - Shane Riley

The Garden Hotel: Live music Fridays and Saturdays from 7pm. November dates - 24 - Elle Flanagan; 25 - Sam Coon; December dates - 1, 2, 9, 15, 22 - Duncan Ferguson; 8 - Irish McMillan; 16 - Elle Flanagan.

Brew Tunes at Devil's Hollow: From 6.30pm, Fridays, November - 24 - Nick Wall; December - 1 - Jo Hyndes; 8 - TBC; 15 - Paul 'Irish'; 22 - Nick Wall.

Dubbo Classic Cars and Coffee is a casual get together on the first Sunday of every month (next event December 3) for local car enthusiasts and owners of special interest cars, hot rods, classics, customs, restored, vintage, muscle cars, street machines, exotics, etc. Classic and custom Bikes are also welcome. Victoria Park, 8am-noon. Mobile cafe supplies coffee, donuts and hot food. Entry by gold coin donation, money donated to Make a Wish Foundation. Entry via Talbragar Street.

Blayney artist Maxine Chapman's exhibit Arts To The Max is at The Odd Sock Gallery. Maxine's artworks are filled with lively, bright and vivid colours. Her works uniquely set her apart with delightful choices of subject. She is both arty and crafty and will have a number of her handmade crotchet items available. She will even show you how they are made with some beginner crotchet lessons on Saturday, November 18 and 25, from 2.30pm-4pm. Bookings are $15 - learn to make either a re-usable dishcloth, face washer, or narrow scarf with all materials supplied. Pop into The Odd Sock Gallery or leave a message on 041 768 2638. Exhibit is from now until November 30, 10am until 5pm daily, at the Odd Sock Gallery, Blayney.

An Ode to Pink is a celebration exhibition featuring a diverse collective of abstract artists taking you on a vibrant journey through hue and the colour pink. Artists include Daniela Cristallo, Chris de Hoog, Ben Foster, Simon Palmer, Kate Pittas, Alexandra Plim, Susan Simonini, Nastia Gladuschenko, Christina McLean, and Madeline Young. November 22 until December 2, 10am-4pm daily.

Join an unforgettable evening of festive fun at the Canowindra Christmas Shopping Night on Friday, November 24. The main road will be closed to traffic, allowing local shops to open late and offer exclusive Christmas specials. With over 30 stalls lining the street, you'll find a fantastic variety of food, gifts, unusual wares, clothing, household goods, and more. Experience the electrifying energy of the band Sick As, enjoy the soulful tunes of local acoustic artist Kent Eastwood, and discover even more music to suit every taste. Families will have a blast with activities like a bull ride, a jumping castle, and face painting. From 5pm-9pm, enjoy the Christmas spirit.

Until sold out this weekend, 1000 oysters are up for grabs for $1 at The Summer Kitchen and Pool Club. Enjoy wood fired tapas and pizza, ribs and barbecue favourites from the summer kitchen and summer cocktails, draught beers and wines from the pool club. Throughout spring and summer, Wednesday to Friday 4pm - 9pm; Saturday noon - 9pm; Sunday noon - 8pm. Reserve your table and relax in the luxury accommodation at bookings.nowbookit.com.

Live Music Saturdays are on every weekend this Spring and Summer. Enjoy local musicians with views of the vineyard hills, delicious food and drinks in the most relaxed country setting in Orange at Stockman's Ridge Wines from 1pm - 5pm, and children and dogs are welcome and free to enter. Numbers are limited so book your $5 spot early at stockmansridge.com.au/products/live-music. Wine Tastings are not included with your booking but can be booked separately, as can delicious grazing boards, at the Cellar Door.

Enjoy seven wines from Ross Hill Wines' Pinnacle Series perfectly matched with delicious dishes for the perfect food & wine experience. Upcoming dates: November 25. From noon - 2pm, tickets $120pp at www.rosshillwines.com.au/cart/events/.

The Orange Region Farmers Market is held on the second Saturday of every month and showcases local produce strictly from the Orange region. Next event December 9. Meet the producers and taste their fresh seasonal produce. Over 60 stalls featuring flowers and plants, fruit and vegetables, artisan bread, cheeses, meats, olives and olive oil, gourmet preserves, free-range eggs, and more! Quality breakfast and hot food stalls and locally roasted coffee available. See the list of produce at orangefarmersmarket.org.au/visit-the-market/#autumn. Gold coin entry funding Rotary Daybreak community projects. Northcourt, behind the Orange Art Gallery, 8.30am-noon.

The experience starts at 11am with a guided tasting of selected Printhie wines from the Cellar Door at Nashdale. At the end of the tasting you'll select your favourite wine from the Topography range (included in the price). You'll then be handed your picnic ready for you to find your favourite spot on the estate. Reserve your spot for $95pp at printhiewines.rezdy.com/398972/printhie-picnic.

You can enjoy High Tea with a delicious selection of sweets, savouries, scones, tea and a glass of award-winning Storm Sparkling, noon-6pm. Booking start times from 1pm and are for 1.5hrs, minimum two people per booking at $60pp at stockmansridge.com.au/. Next available date December 2.

The Dane Ballinger Memorial Truck Show is on at Bathurst Showgrounds on Saturday, November 18, 9am-4pm. There will be plenty to see and do for the whole family including over 200 market stalls, food stalls, entertainment and kids rides. Make a weekend out of it with the annual Bathurst Swap Meet Car and Bike Show plus Christmas market on Sunday. $5 entry.

Join some of our region's best artists as they discuss their work and practising in the region - at Bathurst Regional Gallery on Saturday, November 18 - Jock Alexander; November 25 - Nic Mason; December 2 - Graham Lupp. The BRAGS Art Fair is a fundraising exhibition for the gallery's artistic program and collection, and is an exciting opportunity to support regional artists. Artworks are available to view and buy at the gallery and online. The fair showcases art from artists based in the Bathurst Regional Council district and surrounding areas including the Blue Mountains, Lithgow, Oberon, Blayney, Cowra, Orange and Mudgee. Explore works in a range of mediums including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, ceramics, textiles, and more. Entry is $5.

Enjoy music, food, racing and entertainment at Tyers Park Racecourse on Saturday, November 18, noon until 5pm. Kick of the festive season with exciting thoroughbred racing, family fun, and holiday spirit. Dress in your finest red and white attire for the Christmas Race Meeting. With gates opening at midday, a sausage sizzle, face painting and a jumping castle and a special visit from Santa, there is something for all to enjoy. Entry is $10.

The famed Allegri Singers and Orange Symphony Orchestra together with ORC Symphonic Choir, ORC Chamber Choir, Willoughby Singers, Kinross Wolaroi School Koristers, present Mendelssohn's Elijah Oratorio conducted by Philip Rees. Saturday, November 18, at 2.30pm, at All Saints Anglican Cathedral, 5 Church Street, Bathurst. Tickets $45 at https://allegrisingers.org.au/product/elijah-oratorio-bathurst/.

Take a tour of the home built by the Reverend Thomas Sharpe in 1845. Miss Traill's House and Garden is named after Ida Traill, a socially prominent, independently wealthy resident, who lived in this pretty colonial Georgian bungalow from 1932, until her death at 87, in 1976. The home was bequeathed to the National Trust and now is a museum containing Ida Traill's collection of artifacts including furniture, horseracing memorabilia, paintings and ceramics. Hourly guided tours are available on Sundays between noon and 3pm, with the last booking at 2.30pm. Tickets are $10 - $34, with bookings through eventbrite.

The Men's Table is a national not-for-profit organisation that builds community groups for men to meet monthly over dinner to talk about the highs and lows of their lives, and everything in between. The aim is to help address the need for connection and increasing isolation and loneliness among men. Men of all ages, backgrounds, professional and personal histories and orientations are welcome to share a sense of camaraderie and peer support. For information go to: www.themenstable.org or call 1800 636782.

Horse, harness and driver will show their skills on Mondays and Wednesdays in November. So get along to Bathurst Harness Racing Club for some great harness action in the beautiful grounds. Enjoy a great meal from the bistro and a cold beverage from the bar and have a flutter at the on-course TAB facility. Racing from 5.30pm-9pm.

Rock into the Family Hotel's newest night on the Bathurst calendar with Musical Trivia every Wednesday from 7pm. Entry is free and you can win prizes while grooving to tunes across the decades. Wednesday is also Schnitty Night - for $17, add your choice of $3 topper (parmi, Mexican, boscaiola or Texan). Book your spot at www.familyhotel.com.au/whats-on/musical-bingo.

Old Government Cottage is a rare, intact example of an early Bathurst home. This historic building is at 16 Stanley Street on the western side of the Macquarie River in the area of the old government settlement. It was re-opened after a refurbishment in July 2012 - the first major work on the building since the mid 1960s. An interpretive display from Bathurst's earliest history has been set up within the building. Volunteers open this cottage on the fourth Sunday of each month from noon until 4pm. Entry is $4 for adults and $2 per child. Group bookings and guided tours are available. Contact the Bathurst District Historical Society Museum on 6332 2522 or email info@bathursthistory.org.au for details and rates.

Experience the underground world of a gold mining at Bald Hill tourist mine. A short walk or drive from Hill End, this guided tour is ideal for families and school groups. Walk 80 metres into the tunnel and see quartz reefs. At 80 metres a vertical shaft may be climbed via 10 ladders and 10 platforms to exit the mine. The shaft climb is not compulsory. Open most weekends, and weekday tours can be arranged. Open seven days during school holidays: Monday to Saturday 1.30pm and Sunday 11am. Tours cost Adult $15; Child $9; Family $45 and bookings are essential at: Northey's Store, Clarke Street, or call Kerrie on 0427 301 189. Final bookings 1/2 hour prior to tour time.

A free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event on Saturdays. Walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate - it's up to you! Please register before you first come along. Only ever register with parkrun once and don't forget to bring a scannable copy of your barcode (request a reminder). If you forget it, you won't get a time. www.facebook.com/Bathurstparkrun. Next runs on November 18, 25.

Every first Sunday of the month, from 9am until 1pm, head to Logan Brae Village, 34 Busby Street, Bathurst, for fresh, locally grown and locally made quality produce and goods from the Bathurst, Central West & Blue Mountains regions. Next event December 3.

Bathurst Farmers' Market is a Lions Club of Bathurst Project on every fourth Sunday of the month. Wander through the pavilions and sample or buy fresh regional produce. The market aims to encourage stalls with goods that are grown and/or produced within the Bathurst and Central West Regions. Locally Community Groups are often on hand with information, entertainment and much, much more. Next event Saturday, November 26, Bathurst Showground, 8am-noon, entry by gold coin donation.

Come and explore the stalls under the trees beside the Macquarie River in Berry Park, with a kids' playground and Lions Club barbecue offering drinks and hot food. A wide range of interesting stalls are on hand on the first Saturday of the month - next one is December 2, 9am-1pm.

The Bathurst Arts Trail is a collective of artists throughout the Bathurst region who open their galleries to visitors on each Art's Trail Open Weekend. This occurs on the first weekend of each month - next dates December 2-3. All artists are happy to have visitors to their galleries by appointment. Painters, potters, glass artists, sculptors and printmakers showcase their talents in town and country studios and galleries. Golden Bali flags indicate an artist nearby. Visit bathurstartstrail.com.

Visit Bathurst Grange Distillery producer of outstanding gin and whiskey all located at one of Bathurst's heritage farmstead estates established in 1823. Then tour, taste and lunch at Bathurst's newest independent craft brewery, Reckless Brewing Co. located at The Crago Mill, founded in 1906 by Francis Crago. Every Friday 4pm - 5pm, and every Saturday 11am, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm, join a $20 tour. Bookings at www.bathurstgrange.com.au

Bathurst's historic Showground holds fascinating stories of the structures and people associated with the ground and the importance of the annual Show. The first Show at this site was in 1878. The Showground has been described as probably the finest group of traditional rural showground pavilions and ancillary buildings in Australia. Discover some of the stories during this tour of the site. Meet in front of the Howard Pavilion, Bathurst Showground. $10 per person - bookings essential at Bathurst Visitor Information Centre 1800 68 1000 or online at bathurstregion.com.au/autumn-colours.

Pack a picnic lunch and take the kids down to the miniature railway to enjoy a few rides on working scale model trains, just across the road from the Adventure Playground. Covered shoes must be worn. Trains run the third Sunday of the month (next is November 18), weather permitting. Rides are $2.

Join a choir

Macquarie Male Singers meets every Tuesday, from 7.15pm at the Catholic Parish Centre, behind the Cathedral, cnr William and Keppell Sts, Bathurst. We are an all-male choir, with a singing strength around two dozen members of all ages, and new members would be most welcome. For more information, please contact John Kendall, on 0427410625.

Blayney artist Maxine Chapman's exhibit Arts To The Max is at The Odd Sock Gallery. Maxine's artworks are filled with lively, bright and vivid colours. Her works uniquely set her apart with delightful choices of subject. She is both arty and crafty and will have a number of her handmade crotchet items available. She will even show you how they are made with some beginner crotchet lessons on Saturday, November 18 and 25, from 2.30pm-4pm. Bookings are $15 - learn to make either a re-usable dishcloth, face washer, or narrow scarf with all materials supplied. Pop into The Odd Sock Gallery or leave a message on 041 768 2638. Exhibit is from now until November 30, 10am until 5pm daily, at the Odd Sock Gallery, Blayney.

Blayney Shire Council is bringing Australia's biggest community and sustainability event, Garage Sale Trail, to the local area on November 18-19, 10am-4pm. This jam-packed weekend of garage sales is a great way to declutter, fundraise and meet your neighbours. Households, schools, community groups and local businesses are invited to host a sale or shop the Trail, joining over 400,000 Australians in this nationwide movement that's all about putting secondhand first. Garage Sale Trail is a great opportunity to pick up a bargain and find something unique, all whilst doing your bit for the environment. Get your Garage Sale Trail map at www.garagesaletrail.com.au/blayney

The Cowra Japanese Garden covers five hectares - the largest in the southern hemisphere! It was built here because of Cowra's special significance to the Japanese. The unique relationship of Cowra and Japan originated on a cold night in August 1944, when more than a thousand Japanese prisoners of war broke out of the prison camp. The 231 Japanese soldiers who died in the escape were buried nearby and local members of the RSL tended their graves. As mutual respect grew over the years between Japan and the citizens of Cowra, the idea of a garden arose. The Cowra Japanese Garden & Cultural Centre is open every day except Christmas Day. Adults - $18, Seniors - $15, Students - $15, Children (5-12 years) - $9.

Saturday December 2, will see local produce and products on sale at the monthly Farmers Market. Located at the Oberon Showground, the event features stalls from local businesses where you can buy plants, food, craft items and lots of other surprises. Buy a coffee or a snack, meet your neighbours from around the Oberon community and support your local small and micro businesses. The markets are on the first Saturday of every month.

The markets are on at the Tarana Fire Shed on the fourth Sunday of every month, from 9am to 1pm, with the next one on Sunday, November 22. The regular stalls will be there and you can select from the great food offerings, have some wine or beer from the licensed outlets, and listen to some great music.

Oberon has a long history and some of it has been collected in the museum at the corner of Lowes Mount Road and Scotia Avenue. As well as artifacts and photographs from Oberon's past, the museum has a 3D model of what the town looked like in the 1930s. Of particular interest is the recently opened Forest and Timber display which tells the story of the local timber industry. The museum is open on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 10.30am till 12.30pm. Admission is $5 or $15 for a family.

Held in the CWA rooms from 11am, at 48 Market Street each first Friday of the month. Upcoming dates for the Mudgee CWA Day Branch meetings: December 2. Visitors and new members are always welcome. For more information, contact Genevieve on 0411 574 611.